Whether capturing a concert in full or piecing together a career overview, a great music documentary ticks two boxes. If it doesn't leave you with a new appreciation for and understanding of its subject — even if you already adored the band or musician in the spotlight, and thought you knew everything there possibly is to know — then it isn't doing its job. And if it doesn't take care of your music playlist for the hours, days and even weeks afterwards, well, there's something missing as well. We know this because music docos are a stacked genre. Name a group or performer, and odds are they've earned the documentary treatment. They're a popular genre, too — because who doesn't want to watch a movie about bands and musos they like? Alas, while plenty of cameras have been pointed at plenty of talent over the years, not every great music doco is available to stream. Some big hitters, like the Rolling Stones-focused Gimme Shelter, David Bowie concert flick Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, Beastie Boys' crowd-filmed Awesome, I Fuckin' Shot That and the Chemical Brothers' Don't Think aren't currently accessible, for example. But others are — so we've rounded up ten ace documentaries and concert films that are presently on offer at the click of a button. And yes, dancing in your lounge room is perfectly acceptable. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4IZBJrNXrY STOP MAKING SENSE When David Byrne walks out onto a Hollywood stage circa 1983 in Stop Making Sense, he brings a tape deck with him. With no one else around him, he presses play, takes hold of the microphone and begins to sing one of Talking Heads' best-known songs: 'Psycho Killer'. That's not how concerts usually kick off — but it's instantly memorable. Everything about this energetic and precisely executed documentary, which records the show from start to finish, earns the same description. Directed by future The Silence of the Lambs Oscar-winner Jonathan Demme, each element of the film is fine-tuned, and every element of the band's performance, too. Expect a lineup of hits, a playful approach, Byrne's famous big suit and even bigger stage presence, and the feeling that you're virtually in the room. Stop Making Sense is available to stream via DocPlay. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fB8qvx0HOlI HOMECOMING: A FILM BY BEYONCE April 14, 2018, will forever go down in history as the day Beyoncé took to the Coachella stage and made it her own. If you were lucky enough to be there, you'll no doubt remember it forever. If you watched the live stream — and it became the most-watched live-streamed performance of all time, so you probably did — then you'll never forget it either. Whichever category you fell into, you likely wished you were closer to the action — to the stage for the 137-minute performance, to the 100-plus dancers, to its powerful homage to America's historically black colleges and universities, and to the backstage antics as well. That's where Homecoming: A Film By Beyoncé comes in, with the engaging and intimate concert documentary not only capturing the huge festival performance (and that Destiny's Child reunion), but weaving in behind-the-scenes footage and candid chats that delve into the preparation process and explain Bey's stunning vision. Homecoming: A Film By Beyoncé is available to stream via Netflix. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCyqR2RXoQU BEASTIE BOYS STORY The idea behind Beastie Boys Story is simple. After Adam 'Ad-Rock' Horovitz and Michael 'Mike D' Diamond wrote a book about their career, called Beastie Boys Book, they then talked audiences through it in a series of Spike Jonze-helmed live shows, called Beastie Boys Show — and the Adaptation and Her director filmed them. As a result, this doco tells the Beasties' tale direct from the source; however the hip hop group's surviving two members are candid, heartfelt and definitely not interested in sugarcoating their ups and downs. Along the way, Jonze weaves in an array of excellent archival footage, as well as plenty of the Beasties' tracks and music videos. Yes, that includes the iconic 'Sabotage' clip, aka one of the best music videos of all time. That's all great, fun, and both smartly and entertainingly structured, but just watching Ad-Rock and Mike D chat is the clear highlight. And when Ad-Rock sits down on stage to talk about the person missing — Adam 'MCA' Yauch, who died in 2012 from cancer — your eyes won't stay dry. Beastie Boys Story is available to stream via Apple TV+. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3N7WthSspQ4&feature=emb_logo AMAZING GRACE Told on screen via text, the story behind concert documentary Amazing Grace is worth its own movie. Over two nights in January 1972, Aretha Franklin recorded her best-selling gospel album of the same name at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles, with the Southern California Community Choir as backing singers, and with filmmaker Sydney Pollack on hand to capture the whole thing. But, due to both technical and legal issues — and Franklin suing to stop the movie's belated release before her death — the end result didn't make it to the big screen until just last year. Nearly half a century is a long time to wait; however, this doco is worth it. Amazing Grace is joyous for many reasons, including witnessing the Queen of Soul's talent, paying tribute in an intimate fashion, and seeing the effect of faith and artistry on the on-screen audience. And when Franklin sings the title track for 11 minutes, it's a moment no one will forget in a hurry. Amazing Grace is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube and iTunes. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5Pf3MlUo7c A BAND CALLED DEATH In the introduction to this article, we noted that a music doco should do two things. A few achieve something else as well: they open your eyes to a story, and to a musical talent, that you likely wouldn't have known about otherwise. A Band Called Death is one of those documentaries. You mightn't have heard of 70s hard rock outfit Death, the Detroit group widely considered to be the first punk band, otherwise — but once you've made their acquaintance, you'll want to discover more. Directors Mark Christopher Covino and Jeff Howlett are rightfully certain of this, because that's what record collectors started doing when Death's 1975 album ...For the Whole World to See was finally released in 2009. And yes, A Band Called Death covers that part of the story, too. A Band Called Death is available to stream via DocPlay, Google Play, YouTube and iTunes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WeElITdTLE8 SIGN O' THE TIMES As Purple Rain wholeheartedly proved, there are few things as entrancing as watching the late, great Prince on-screen across a hefty chunk of time. If you'd rather see him do what he did best in a whole concert film — or you loved Purple Rain's live performance scenes so much that you want more, which is completely understandable — then Sign o' the Times has you covered. The purple one sings, obviously, largely sticking to tracks from the 1987 album that shares the film's name. He dances like no one other than Prince can. And, he also wears oh-so-many skimpy jumpsuits. Between songs such as 'Little Red Corvette' and 'If I Was Your Girlfriend', the concert doco also weaves in a narrative, should you be keen on a bit of a story with your sultry, slinky, toe-tapping Prince tunes. Sign o' the Times is available to stream via Amazon Prime Video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SluDNQTRDPQ THE PUNK SINGER She helped start the riot grrrl movement, became the voice of 90s punk feminism and, when she spray-painted "Kurt smells like Teen Spirit" across her pal Mr Cobain's wall, inspired the name of a certain grunge anthem. We're talking about Bikini Kill lead singer Kathleen Hanna — who also went on to release her own solo work and front late 90s/early 00s electro-rock group Le Tigre. From crafting art-school fashion shows that comment on sexual assault, to forcing gig crowds let girls to the front so they could mosh without being accosted, Hanna's story is as lengthy as it is fascinating, as The Punk Singer chronicles. This fantastic doco not only steps through its subject's career, explains her impact, explores her quest to share her feminist principles and exposes the many obstacles in her way, but also gets frank and intimate when it comes to her step back from performing due to health reasons in 2005. It also features insights from Hanna's husband, if you didn't get enough of Ad-Rock in Beastie Boys Story. The Punk Singer is available to stream via iTunes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXa3gw3g4C4 GURRUMUL As the insightful film Gurrumul conveys, the late Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu was a musician and a man utterly unlike anyone else. Making his first feature, director Paul Damien Williams charts Yunupingu's days from childhood to his passing, painting a captivating portrait of one of Australia's undisputed icons. Sometimes, the documentary is happy to simply sit and watch as Yunupingu does what he does so sublimely: sing and play, his voice ringing out over the top of his own guitar or even paired with an orchestra. Sometimes, the movie delves deep into Yunupingu's clearly reclusive nature, whether he's keeping mum in interviews, preferring to stay at home, or failing to show up at the airport for what would've been a career-defining trip to America. The end result is a dense, rare and haunting documentary modelled in its subject's image, proving as beautiful, intimate, layered and revelatory as the artist's remarkable songs. Gurrumul is available to stream via Google Play, YouTube and iTunes. Read our full review. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlT7UQm5pfY JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE + THE TENNESSEE KIDS Filmmaker Jonathan Demme strikes again with Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids, giving JT the same lively, entertaining and immaculately choreographed concert doco treatment that he did Talking Heads in the aforementioned Stop Making Sense. Even if you're not much of a fan of the former *NSYNC member when you start watching Demme's documentary, you're unlikely to find your attention levels dropping even for a second, as the movie constantly finds something dazzling to thrust in front of the lens. Usually, that's Timberlake. He's a top-notch live performer, and his efforts and talents are firmly on display here. Also on offer: a set list filled with familiar tracks. And, as the film's name makes plain, JT's band The Tennessee Kids also earns — and deserves — the camera's focus. Justin Timberlake + The Tennessee Kids is available to stream via Netflix. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEaCDxjmPNg SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN Before A Band Called Death stepped through the kind of music story that's so filled with twists and turns that it could only be true, Searching for Sugar Man did the same. The Oscar-winning doco's subject: Sixto Rodriguez, an American musician who was hugely popular in the 70s in South Africa, other African countries, and also Australia and New Zealand. After hearing rumours of Rodriguez's death in the late 90s, two fans tried to work out if it was true — with Swedish documentarian Malik Bendjelloul charting their efforts and revelations. Rodriguez is no stranger to Australia's shores, so part of the movie's discoveries won't come as a surprise to many viewers Down Under; however this film still proves informative and enthralling at every turn. Also, it'll get Rodriguez's track 'Sugar Man' stuck in your head. Searching for Sugar Man is available to stream via Stan and DocPlay.
Whether you're an early riser or perpetually out late with mates, Brisbane is a vibrant city with a jam-packed schedule of exciting to-dos — all year round. Sunlight or city lights, kid-friendly or up-past-bedtime, in 2023 you'll be more than set to explore the city your way. Early bird? Rejoice! You've come to the right place — it is the Sunshine State, after all. Sate your appetite for science with an intellectual festival feed. Be enraptured by song with a stellar calendar of music events. Take to the skies via artistic explorations of our earth's atmosphere in a world-class exhibition. Flock together for storytelling and cultural conversations. See your city habitat transformed by immersive installations that query the lines between art, science, human, nature and AI. There are tours and workshops, parties and playtime — all before the sun sets. Though, they don't call her Bris Vegas for nothing. Bright lights and late nights, baby. It's not the city that never sleeps — but there's more than enough to keep you occupied well into the night. In 2023, expect festivals and innovative cultural events, immersive experiences and guided night tours, groundbreaking theatre and augmented reality landscapes. Explore art, science and the space in between via pop-up installations; catch rare films in an art-gallery cinema; watch an epic opera al fresco; witness light shows and fireworks along the river; and feed your musical appetite at a huge urban festival dedicated to the most exciting, fresh talent in the Australian music scene. Whether you prefer to stay indoors or venture into the darkness, Brisbane will keep the lights on for you. Here, we've compiled a bunch of arty things to do and see in 2023, so that no matter what time you're heading out in Brisbane you're guaranteed to have a ripper time. Read on for all the daytime fun, then flick the switch above and we'll turn down the lights and show you the best events happening at night.
The Dune universe is returning to the small screen. Over the past four decades, the franchise started on the page by Frank Herbert has hit cinemas three times so far, thanks to David Lynch's 1984 film, plus the current spicy cinema saga starring Timothée Chalamet (Wonka) and Zendaya (Euphoria). In the 00s, it also spread sandy across TV via two miniseries. Now, because everything in pop culture has to span both movies and television at the same time, HBO has made six-part prequel series Dune: Prophecy. Due to arrive in spring 2024 Down Under, with an exact release date still to be revealed, the new Dune show sits in the same world as both 2021 standout Dune: Part One and this year's Dune: Part Two — but there'll be no Paul Atreides or Chani. Rather, Dune: Prophecy is set amid the Bene Gesserit 10,000 years before the birth of Paul. HBO has dropped a first teaser trailer for the series, which follows the sect that gives rise to the Bene Gesserit, aka the sisterhood that secretly sways the universe. In the debut sneak peek, the narration explains how the faction formed, and was "assigned to the great houses to help them sift truth from lies" — but also notes that that power comes with a price. Cue plenty of plotting, especially to get a sister onto the throne. Cue lurking in dramatically shadowy spaces as well, as schemes are hatched. Rituals, battles, marriages: they all pop up, too, in a series that's inspired by Brian Herbert and Kevin J Anderson's novel Sisterhood of Dune. While no familiar faces from Denis Villeneuve's (Blade Runner 2049) Dune movies feature in the trailer, the show's cast includes Emily Watson (Small Things Like These), Olivia Williams (The Crown), Travis Fimmel (Boy Swallows Universe), Jodhi May (Renegade Nell), Mark Strong (Tár), Sarah-Sofie Boussnina (The Colony), Josh Heuston (Heartbreak High) and Jessica Barden (You & Me). On the big screen, there's also more Dune to come, with the tale of Paul, aka sci-fi's spiciest man, set to continue in a third Dune film that doesn't yet have a release date. Check out the first teaser trailer for Dune: Prophecy below: Dune: Prophecy will stream from sometime in spring 2024, including via Binge in Australia — we'll update you when an exact release date is announced. Read our reviews of Dune: Part One and Dune: Part Two, and our interview with cinematographer Greig Fraser.
Anything humans can eat, dogs think that they can munch on as well. But as every responsible pet parent knows, that isn't actually the case. So, we've all weathered those adorable, yearning, pleading looks from our beloved pooches as we've tucked into something that they'd like to taste as well. And, we've all felt the heartbreak at letting our cute critters down — even though it's for their health. Does your doggo get a twinkle in their eye whenever there's a doughnut around? It wouldn't be the first — and, until Monday, September 18, it's in luck. For International Dog Day on Saturday, August 26, Krispy Kreme has announced the return of its limited-edition range of "doggie doughnuts". They're doughnut-inspired dog biscuits, actually, but they sure do look like the real thing. First introduced in 2021, the eye-catching bikkies are a collaboration with Sunshine Coast-based pet treats business Huds and Toke, and they come in six different varieties. If you love Krispy Kreme's original glazed doughnuts, perhaps your pupper will adore the dog biscuit version as well. Or, you could let then go barking mad over choc iced, choc cookie, choc cheesecake, choc sprinkles and strawberry sprinkles varieties. The biscuits aren't made from doughnuts or from chocolate, of course; instead, they use a hard-baked cookie base, as well as frosting made from ingredients like carob that's been designed specifically for dog jaws. The bikkies are also meant to be good for chewing and for dental cleaning — and they're designed to last longer than your usual dog treat. If these round delights will get your four-legged friend's tail wagging, you can buy them in six-packs (for $14.90) while stocks last at Krispy Kreme stores — including via drive-thru. And, they are just for pets. So, just like how Fido or Rover can't have your doughnut, you can't have their version either. Grab some on the weekend of Saturday, August 26–Sunday, August 27 and you'll also score a complimentary pup cup. Krispy Kreme's doggie doughnuts are now available from the chain's stores in Australia and New Zealand until Monday, September 18. Images: Michael Leckie / PinPep.
Ah, l'Europe. Land of architectural charm and grandeur, where a staircase is never just a staircase but a work of art in itself. Surely providing one of the most gorgeous ways to scale an incline ever, Sicily's Staircase of Santa Maria del Monte in the city of Caltagirone comes alive every year with beautiful designs entirely composed of potted flowers and lights. It's a simple and elegant method of transforming a public space into a natural and versatile artistic canvas, drawing both natives and tourists together to celebrate local heritage. During the La Scala Flower Festival and the Scala Illuminata, the Staircase of Santa Maria del Monte's 142 steps, dating back to 1608, host a series of intricate floral and candle arrangements that take advantage of the steep slope to present vast perspectival images of patron saints and traditional patterns of the region. People can flock to see the designs flicker by night during the light festivals and walk up and down admiring the foliage by day during the flower festivals. Made up of thousands of decorated tiles — one of the signature products of Caltagirone, which is famous for its ceramics and terracotta industry — the Staircase of Santa Maria del Monte is already a landmark. The addition of some 2000 plants (geranium, boxwood and marigolds) took its appeal to the next level this year during the flower festival in honour of Our Lady of Conadomini, patron saint of the city, which ran from 8 May to 3 June. You can scope out more of the inventive and colourful designs here. It's certainly hard to imagine noticing any muscle fatigue in your glutes when you're distracted by so much colour. These inspiring pictures beg the question: which spots in Australian cities are ripe for this kind of ornamentation? We reckon it's time to take a cue from sophisticated Sicily and import the flower stair concept on a grand scale. Via This is Colossal.
In cinemas, 2024 will feature fewer superheroes than normal. Marvel is only releasing Deadpool & Wolverine, while DC is taking the year off as it prepares to start its franchise anew. On the small screen, there mightn't be as many Marvel Cinematic Universe TV shows, either. But if you like your caped-crusader fix to be as chaotic as possible — and if you have a big dose of superhero fatigue with the usual sprawling sagas — you'll be pleased to know that The Boys will be back in your streaming queue midyear. After college-set spinoff Gen V arrived in 2023, earning a season-two renewal in the process, The Boys itself will return for season four from Thursday, June 13, 2024. The exact release date comes after a first trailer for the new season was dropped in December, teasing plenty of mayhem — to the utter lack of surprise of viewers of 2019's first season, 2020's second effort and 2022's third go-around. When The Boys makes its comeback, it'll see the world dealing with Homelander (Antony Starr, Guy Ritchie's The Covenant)-versus-Starlight (Erin Moriarty, Captain Fantastic) factionalism, and just being ready to tear itself apart in general. Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit, Where'd You Go, Bernadette) is getting closer to the Oval Office, too, with Homelander pulling the strings. Also on the way: no-nonsense Brit Billy Butcher (Karl Urban, Thor: Ragnarok) dealing with the fact that he's only got months left, and that he's no longer leading The Boys — aka the eponymous ragtag team intent on bringing down Vought International, Homelander, and the company's caped-crusader industry and dominance. And, there's a new face, with Jeffrey Dean Morgan (The Walking Dead) joining the cast, adding another Supernatural link after Jensen Ackles did the same in season three. The Boys focuses on a group of caped crusaders, like most things seem to these days; however, in a world where viewers have been conditioned to lap up narratives about powerful folks who are supposedly better than most, this series both satirises and questions that very idea. Here, superheroes work for Vought. They're still the main form of entertainment, but they're real, the most famous celebrities there are and inescapable in daily life, too. The absolute top talent is known as The Seven, but most are hardly role models when the public isn't looking. That has made quite the change from the usual cinematic universes as the Prime Video show has kept notching up the seasons, all coming to the small screen after being adapted from Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's comic book series of the same name. As well as Starr, Moriarty, Doumit and Urban, Jack Quaid (Oppenheimer), Jessie T Usher (Smile), Laz Alonso (Wrath of Man), Chace Crawford (Gossip Girl), Tomer Capone (One on One), Karen Fukuhara (Bullet Train), Colby Minifie (I'm Thinking of Ending Things) and Cameron Crovetti (Goodnight Mommy) will all return — with Susan Heyward (Hello Tomorrow!) and Valorie Curry (The Lost Symbol) also set to be season four newcomers. Check out the first trailer for The Boys season four below: The fourth season of The Boys will start streaming via Prime Video from Thursday, June 13, 2024. Read our reviews of The Boys season three and Gen V.
Throw on your winter coat and head out into the night as the Glow Winter Arts Festival returns to Melbourne's southeast for its sixth year. Hosted by the City of Stonnington over four chilly nights, this after-dark arts fest celebrates the best that local creatives have to offer, with plenty of dazzling light projections to tempt you out into the cold. This year, Malvern East's Central Park oval set to be lit up with lasers, projections and giant glowing puppets — it's the east's answer to Fitzroy's Gertrude Street Projection Festival and Footscray's West Projections. If you rock up to the park between 6pm and 10pm, you'll be able to wander through a maze of lights and glowing installations. Step inside a dome of glowing lights in Wonderdome, visit a five-metre-tall puppet made from 600 LED lights and more than one-kilometre of rope or stop by The Indirect Object's Minor Disturbance, which is made from recycled plastics and will make you feel as though you're floating beneath the ocean. Best of all? It's all free to attend. While you're there, you'll also find cheesy toasties and hot chocolates to warm up your hands (and stomach). Glow Winter Arts Festival runs from 6–10pm. Image two: Danica Zuks
It's been five years since Robert Rodriguez turned in Sin City: A Dame To Kill For, and a full decade since James Cameron directed Avatar. Now, though, they've teamed up to create Alita: Battle Angel, a $200+ million sci-fi blockbuster based on Yukito Kishiro's iconic 90s cyberpunk manga of the same name. Set-up wise, it's a very familiar tale. We're deep into the future (2563, to be exact), and the world continues to reel from The Fall, aka the war to end all wars. Earth's remaining cities are massively overcrowded slums resembling the favelas of modern-day Sao Paulo, whilst high above them floats Zalem — the luxurious haven for the super wealthy and elite. In that sense, Alita is alota like 2013's Elysium and the recent Netflix series Altered Carbon, although for a refreshing change the inhabitants of the lower city aren't presented as weary, ravenous scum fighting one another for every last consumable. There's even a blue sky, regular sunlight, fresh fruit and delicious chocolate. Sure, there are the usual scavengers and rogues of various forms, but for the most part the community is exactly that — a harmonious, multicultural confederacy of peoples just trying to eek out a new life for themselves in the post-Fall world. The hero, too, enters the story with a very familiar backstory. Alita, a damaged cyborg rescued from the trash piles of Zalem, has no memory of her past. When push comes to literal shove, however, she discovers she's possessed of extraordinary martial arts abilities and highly lethal tendencies. In other words, Jason Bourne with robot limbs. Very quickly, Alita's childlike naivety gives way to a revenge-fuelled blood lust as she seeks out those who would do her (and her loved ones) harm. Gradually, too, the memories of her previous life (and mission) begin to resurface, setting her upon a seemingly-inevitable path towards Nova, the mysterious entity pulling all the strings from high above in Zalem. Portrayed by a digitally-enhanced Rosa Salazar, Alita is literally a wide-eyed wonder to behold. The special effects wizadry of Cameron's team has rendered her believable enough to not be distracting, yet different enough to do justice to the story's sci-fi legacy. Indeed, the majority of the film's characters carry some form of technological enhancement, ranging from simple mechanical arms to fully-fledged mech suits, most notably those 'worn' by the cyborg assassin Grewishka (a terrific Jackie Earle Haley). The myriad enhancements are gleefully displayed by Rodriguez during several scenes of motorball, a violent and frenetic sport that feels like the bastard offspring of NASCAR, Quidditch and roller derby. Basically, picture Mario Kart, but instead of spinning your opponent out with a banana, you rip their face off with a chainsaw. In supporting roles, Christoph Waltz delivers the best and most nuanced performance as Ido, the kindly surgeon who discovers, repairs and cares for Alita. Less convincing are Jennifer Connelly as Chiren, Ido's ex-wife, and Mahershala Ali as Vector, the kingpin of motorball. Keean Johnson, who'd comfortably double for a young Colin Farrell, plays the part of Alita's would-be love interest Hugo, however their dialogue (and indeed almost all of the film's dialogue) feels punishingly awkward and unnatural. Only Ido and Alita achieve a believably tender relationship, helped by the fact that they also have the film's only fleshed out backstories. Lack of originality notwithstanding, Alita: Battle Angel still delivers an engaging experience thanks to Rodriguez's nimble and full-throttle direction. The film's fight scenes are its strongest asset, with Alita's balletic combat offering the perfect counterpoint to her opponents' brute force. She's a terrific heroine to get behind — surefooted in her abilities, noble in her intentions and charming in her wisecracking. Whilst a sequel hasn't been confirmed, the film's ending all but demands one, and with a little more work on the scripting front, it could easily deliver a white-knuckled gangbuster of a sci-fi franchise. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7pYhpJaJW8
Room is by no means an easy film to watch. Based on the critically acclaimed novel by Emma Donoghue, which was in turn inspired by the crimes of Josef Fritzl, it's a tale whose existence is rooted in horror and misery, and the perverse fascination such stories tend to inspire. And yet despite its grim subject matter, Room never wallows in darkness, but instead stares defiantly into the light. It is a tale not of depravity but of resilience, and the incredible, unbreakable love between a parent and their child. Room is told from the perspective of Jack (Jacob Tremblay), a five year old boy who lives with his mother Joy (Brie Larson) in a small, dishevelled shed called Room. Jack was born in Room, and its meagre contents, including a bed, a bath, a sink, a wardrobe and a skylight, are all he has ever known. Joy tells him nothing of the outside world in order to protect him from the truth: that they are captives of a man named Old Nick (Sean Bridgers), and that Jack is the product of rape. Very few films ask as much of their lead actors as Room does of Larson and Tremblay. There's barely a frame of the film in which one, if not both, are not present, particularly during the initial harrowing hour. Larson is tipped to take home an Oscar, and it would be hard to fault the Academy for that decision. Her performance communicates with unflinching clarity both the years of abuse that Joy has suffered, and the lengths she is willing to go to to keep her son from experiencing the same fate. Tremblay is, if anything, even more impressive, capturing the optimism of a child unburdened by adult comprehension, without ever dipping into the kind of forced cutesiness that scuppers so many young performers. Tremblay's flawless performance also validates the risky decision to tell the story from Jack's point of view. In the film's bleakest moments, Jack's innocence is like a life preserver, and the only thing that keeps us from drowning in despair. Likewise, when he is finally exposed to the world outside his prison, we share in his sense of wonderment. So palpable is his emotion that it feels like we, too, are discovering the world for the very first time. Director Lenny Abrahamson is largely invisible behind the camera, and perhaps that's for the best. There's a lot he could have done, through camerawork and editing, to ratchet up the unease or foster a sense of claustrophobia, but to do so would run the risk of distracting from the performances – and ultimately, it's by the performances that the movie lives or dies. Even as the film ventures into more conventional narrative territory in its latter half, Larson and Tremblay make it impossible to look away. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C6fZ-fwDws
Amar Singh, the legend behind some of Sydney and Melbourne's most forward-thinking Indian restaurants, has just opened his new eatery Bibi Ji on the Carlton end of Lygon Street. Much like Daughter-in-Law in Chinatown, Bibi Ji is home to Singh's much-loved brand of 'inauthentic' Indian food. Inspired by street food snacks in India, but reimagined for a contemporary Australian audience, Singh's dishes are all about big flavours served up in an easy-to-share manner. To start, for example, you'll find the likes of a vegan chutney platter, spicy chicken bites, zingy dahi puri among a heap of other snacks. You could easily treat Bibi Ji like an alternative sip-and-snack bar, stopping by for a few drinks paired with reimagined street eats. But it would be a shame to miss out on the extensive list of curries. On the menu, you'll find Aussie staples like butter chicken and tikka masala, plus plenty of lesser-known options, most of which are vegetarian. Beyond the curries, tandoori chicken cooked on the bone, lamb seekh kebab, achari prawns and paneer tikka are streaming out of the in-house tandoor oven. A healthy selection of classic and Indian-inspired cocktails and mocktails is available, as well as a long list of beers, whiskies and wines. When it comes to vinos, you can expect an entirely Victorian selection that covers your usual suspects as well as a few natty options. Design-wise, Bibi Ji could not be more different than the space's previous occupant, Cafe Notturno, which was there for an impressive 45 years. Now, the 80-seat Indian diner is fully embracing the more-is-more aesthetic. The ceilings are covered in a kaleidoscope of draped fabrics, the walls are either tiled, mirrored, or covered in bright paintings, a few big birds of paradise plants are dotted around the restaurant, and the bar is a symphony of colourful tiles, marble, and shimmering plastic garlands. It's hard not to crack a smile when first walking into Bibi Ji. And we don't expect you'll lose that grin at any point during the dining experience. You'll find Bibi Ji at 179 Lygon Street, Carlton, open 5pm–late Wednesday–Sunday, and 12–4pm Friday–Sunday. For more information, visit the venue's website. Images: Jana Langhorst
Summer at the Mornington Peninsula just got a lot hotter (in a good way). Hotel Sorrento, a mainstay since 1872, reopened in December 2023 — revealing a luxurious transformation that's all about premium leisure and maximum relaxation. The renovation was announced early in 2022, and the team is ready to show off the new and improved Mornington fave. Let's start with the new digs. Thirteen new Sunset Suites have been constructed, starting from $550 per night. These suites feature expansive windows with lush views, outdoor marble baths, rooms filled with bespoke Jardan furniture and amenities from Hunter Lab. And they look gorgeous. The love isn't confined to the new suites — the existing rooms have also received a facelift. Meanwhile, the new Marlo Spa, hidden away in a private part of the hotel by a peaceful Japanese-inspired garden, is ready to pamper guests with massages, fire and ice therapies and more. And here's where it gets exciting: a 30-metre lap pool set in a travertine-walled terrace, surrounded by greenery and olive trees has been installed. Like swimming in the Mediterranean without the hassle of a 16-hour flight. Add a nice cocktail while relaxing on the new poolside custom-made sun lounges and you've got a recipe for the perfect sunset relaxation session. Bookings are now open at Hotel Sorrento, found at 5/15 Hotham Road, Sorrento.
Pearl Jam finally returning to Australia and New Zealand for the first time since 2014 was always going to be big news. Tickets to their shows were always going to get snapped up fast, too. So, it comes as no surprise that the Eddie Vedder-led band's Down Under leg of their Dark Matter tour has added new gigs on the day that tix went on sale — because Melbourne, Sydney and Auckland's concerts have proven that popular. In NZ, the group will now hit up Go Media Stadium in Mt Smart on Sunday, November 10 as well as the already-announced Friday, November 8. In Melbourne, Monday, November 18 joins Saturday, November 16 on Pearl Jam's trip to Marvel Stadium. And in Sydney, the band will play Giants Stadium on Saturday, November 23, after their first show there on Thursday, November 21. [caption id="attachment_940860" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Raph_PH via Flickr[/caption] At each of the new gigs, as well as the rest of the tour's stops in Sydney and on the Gold Coast, audiences will be treated to two hefty names in 80s and 90s music thanks to Pixies in support. Vedder and Black Francis taking to the same stage? That'll make you feel alive and ask "where is my mind?". Pearl Jam are the headliners, returning after last hitting our shores on a tour a decade back that included the final-ever Big Day Out. Dark Matter, the band's 12th album, will release in April — which gives fans plenty of time to know it by heart before the group take to local stages. [caption id="attachment_940849" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Wp72 via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] Expect to hear tunes from Dark Matter, plus past hits 'Alive', 'Black', 'Jeremy', 'Better Man', 'Last Kiss' and 'Daughter' from previous albums such as the iconic Ten, Vs and Vitalogy from the early 90s, plus No Code, Yield and more since. Pixies, who were last Down Under in 2022, are responsible for a helluva one-two punch with their first two albums: 1988's Surfer Rosa and 1989's Doolittle. The first gave the world the track that's been linked with Tyler Durden courtesy of David Fincher's Fight Club since 1999, aka 'Where Is My Mind?', as well as 'Gigantic' and 'Cactus'. The second is home to 'Here Comes Your Man', 'Monkey Gone to Heaven', 'Debaser' and 'Wave of Mutilation'. Tickets to the tour required registration first, which has already ended. But, if you have received a code as part of that process, it's now valid for the new gigs. [caption id="attachment_940844" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Danny Cinch[/caption] Pearl Jam Dark Matter World Tour 2024 with with Special Guests Pixies — Australia and New Zealand Dates Friday, November 8 + Sunday, November 10 – Go Media Stadium, Mt Smart, Auckland Wednesday, November 13 — Heritage Bank Stadium, Gold Coast Saturday, November 16 + Monday, November 18 — Marvel Stadium, Melbourne Thursday, November 21 + Saturday, November 23 — Giants Stadium, Sydney Pearl Jam and Pixies are touring Australia and New Zealand in November 2024, with ticket sales from Friday, February 23 — head to the Pearl Jam website for further details. Top image: Raph_PH via Flickr.
Sake is having a moment in Melbourne right now. More and more small bars and restaurants are playing around with the spirit, adding it to cocktails and even popping a few bottles on the shelves. And plenty of spots around town have created lengthy sake menus that cover a huge range of regions and flavour profiles. But despite this increased visibility, many Melburnians still aren't so confident about the drink — certainly not like we are with wine. To help educate us on the vast world of sake, importer Nomu Saketen has teamed up with Brunswick cafe CBCB & OBFUD to run a series of informative (and delicious) sake sessions until Saturday, June 8. From 5–10pm on Friday and Saturday nights, those curious about sake can pop down to try tasting flights and paired snacks. Small-batch, hand-crafted sake makers will be championed during these sessions, primarily from the Shizuoka prefecture. Two sake flights will be on offer, plus there'll be a small range of bottles available for purchase for those wanting to take their favourite drop home. Food is kept fairly simple, and will include bites like yuzu and miso cucumber, chilli edamame and mixed mushroom crisps. Stop by before or after dinner along nearby Sydney Road to make a proper night of it.
Entering an Australian supermarket over the past month or so, you can be forgiven for thinking that you're walking onto the set of a post-apocalyptic film. People have been everywhere — until customer limits were put in place in-store — but the shelves are often bare, with shoppers panic-buying everything from toilet paper and hand sanitiser to pasta and milk. As the COVID-19 situation evolved, local supermarket chains were forced to implement item limits — and increase them when the hoarding kept happening, causing everyday staples to keep selling out. But, while some restrictions aren't going anywhere soon, Coles and Woolworths have started to lift caps on a range of items. At Coles, limits have been lifted on both UHT and fresh milk, all types of meat, plus tissues and nappies. The company currently only has one-pack-per-person limits on toilet paper and paper towels, and two-pack-per-person cap on eggs, sugar, frozen vegetables, frozen desserts, canned tomatoes, pasta, all dry rice regardless of size, flour, hand sanitiser, liquid soap and antibacterial wipes — although additional limits may still be placed on other items on a store-by-store basis, so it's best to pay attention to the signage while you're shopping. Over at Woolies, caps have now been removed on tinned tomatoes, canned legumes and all canned vegetables; longlife milk; oats; baby care items excluding wipes; and serviettes. A few weeks back, it was easier to list what wasn't restricted than detail what did have limits, with a two-pack-per-person limit applying in general to most products; however the chain's caps have been changing regularly. Still, before you head in to buy groceries, it's worth checking out the Woolies website for the latest details. Aldi's most recent limits are all still in place, including caps on toilet paper (one pack); dry pasta, dry rice, flour, paper towels, tissues, sanitiser and eggs (two packs); UHT milk, sugar and microwavable rice (six packs); and canned foods (ten packs). At IGA, it's still a store-by-store decision. "In the spirit of helping everyone in our local communities access essential items, stores have placed purchase limits on items that are critically low in stock. These limits are being managed on a store by store basis and are increasing day by day," the chain advised in a statement. For more details on Australian supermarket item limits, keep an eye on Coles, Woolworths, Aldi and IGA's websites. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website. Top image: Vakrieger via Wikimedia Commons.
It's no unique observation that a new cafe opens every other week. With so many to try, test and travel to, even a second visit is a statement. That's why Melbourne's cafes have stepped out of of being repetitive. They're trying something new in the hope that you'll come back. Whether it's niche espresso or making menu decisions frighteningly easy, these are five new cafes that are doing things a little differently. Little Big Sugar Salt Savoury or sweet? The great internal battle when it comes to ordering brunch. Little Big Sugar Salt in Abbotsford understand this first-world problem and have designed their menu accordingly. It's broken down into either salty or sweet and big or small, so all you need to know is the mood you're in. Genius, right? This new Victoria Street addition is a labour of love from a group with as much passion as they have talent. The team — Charl Laubscher, Erika Geraerts, Morgan Green, Jesse Aston and Adam Houston — have done it all themselves from the painting to the coffee making. 385 Victoria Street, Abbotsford Stovetop It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single cafe operating in Melbourne cannot survive without a coffee-making gimmick. Stovetop Espresso's is — as you may have guessed — stovetop espresso, an Italian steam-based coffee produced by passing hot water pressurised by steam through ground coffee. It's tiny but fashionable, and it's a first on the Melbourne coffee scene. This cafe space, however, is free of gimmicks and co-owned by two brothers who are possibly the nicest people you'll ever meet. 100 Leicester Street, Melbourne The Stables of Como Como House and the surrounding gardens are exquisitely beautiful. The colonial Victorian house built in 1847 offers an insight into a time long gone and now a new cafe has opened inside the walls of the property. The Stables of Como pays homage to the past and adds a hint of the present to the beautiful estate which acts as a haven from the busyness of Melbourne. Venture inside the high white walls of the grounds, wander through the gardens, and find a place amongst the big white umbrellas. Cnr Williams Road & Lechlade Ave, South Yarra Tall Timber With cafe pedigrees taking over Melbourne, this new addition comes from one of the best. Building on the success of Coin Laundry and Station Street Trading Co., the team behind Tall Timber has brought a slice of hinterland idyll to a bustling Prahran. It's a local that has the potential to entertain and impress your dearest of friends, while also being a reliable choice for a comfortable, solo retreat. With the team already working together as smooth as a lumberjack's axe, Tall Timber is a standout. 60 Commercial Road, Prahran The Grain Store Local and sustainable produce is front-of-mind when experienced chef Ingo Meissner creates his European brunch fare — it's modern fine dining done with skill and diligence. The breakfast menu items like the sweet Grain Store toasted muesli parfait with mandarin, chia seed yoghurt and quince ($10), chilli and fennel sausage with winter vegetable mash, poached egg, Russian red kale, pear and cider relish ($17) and, if you’re lucky, a special of sweet brioche French toast with rhubarb, apple and caramel are indulgent and distinctive. The Grain Store is a cafe that you want to spend time in, and the fact that they take bookings means you might just be able to. Arguably boasting the best menu on the business end of Flinders Lane, it's a little slice of comfort for any occasion. 517 Flinders Lane, Melbourne By the Concrete Playground team.
TamJai Mixian is huge in Hong Kong, with the city home to over 50 stores serving big bowls of cheap and totally customisable noodles. And now, it's finally coming to Australia. But instead of opening just one store and seeing how it goes, the team already has four planned to open within the next few months. The first Melbourne TamJai is slated to open on Swanston Street on Thursday, November 28, followed by a Melbourne Central location in December. Come 2025, there will also be TamJai noodle shops in Box Hill and Glen Waverley. For those not in the know, what is TamJai Mixian all about? Simply put, it's a fast-food noodle shop that pairs rice noodles (cooked al dente) with a myriad of spicy soup bases and toppings. It's garnered huge popularity in Hong Kong thanks to its generous portions of cheap and boldly flavoured eats. The team boasts that over 10,000 units of its TamJai Supreme Mixian dish are sold every day in Hong Kong alone, with even more sold at stores in China, Singapore and Japan. But the Australian TamJais will be a little different to its Asian counterparts. The brand is using these sites to demo a new visual identity for the brand with bold graphics, a new logo and a colourful, modern restaurant fitout designed to appeal to an Aussie audience. Each store will even have a soup-tasting counter so that new customers can get acquainted with the spice levels of Tam Jai's signature soup bases, which range from 'non-spicy' to 'hell fire'. Punters can also choose from six different kinds of soup bases, into which they can add a large selection of fresh meat, fish and vegetables — plus, a few Hong Kong local specialties for the more adventurous noodle lovers. These will start at $17.90 and go up depending on how many toppings you add. Beyond noodles, you can also find the team's TuFei chicken wings (coated in a secret seasoning), sliced pork belly with mashed garlic and chilli oil, and drinks like Hong Kong-style lemon tea — similar to its soups, you can customise this with your desired level of sweetness. Daren Lau, Chairman and CEO TamJai International Company Limited shared, "Bringing TamJai Mixian to Australia has been our most eagerly anticipated overseas expansion to date, and we're excited to introduce Aussies to the Mixian food category. "We also know that there is a large population of Hong Kongers both visiting and living in Melbourne who will welcome the arrival of one of their favourite comfort foods from back home." TamJai Mixian's first Melbourne Location will open on Thursday, November 28 at 231 Swanston Street, Melbourne. Shops at Melbourne Central, Glen Waverley and Box Hill will open in the months following. For more information, check out the group's website.
Lightyear wasn't the best Pixar movie, but when it flickered across the big screen halfway through 2022, it did something that the Disney-owned animation studio's films hadn't for a couple of years. Due to the pandemic's early days, the Mouse House skipped cinema releases for Soul, Luca and Turning Red between late 2020 and early 2022. It was the time of lockdowns, restrictions, and picture palaces either temporarily closing or having capacity limits, so all three features went straight to streaming platform Disney+. Wish you'd gotten a silver-screen experience while viewing this trio — or any one of them? Enter the new Pixar Film Fest to give you that chance. From Thursday, February 22–Wednesday, March 13, for a week apiece at various locations around Australia and New Zealand, it's debuting Soul, Luca and Turning Red in cinemas for the first time Down Under. Soul sports a premise that resembles Inside Out, which has a sequel arriving on the big screen in 2024. Instead of emotions having emotions, souls do. Rather than Amy Poehler (Moxie) doing voice work, Tina Fey (Mean Girls) does. And director Peter Docter (Up) helmed them both. But Soul is definitely its own feature — and takes quite the existential trip as it follows aspiring jazz musician-turned-music teacher Joe (Jamie Foxx, The Burial) after an accident where his soul leaves his body. The score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (The Killer), plus Jon Batiste (The First Wave), won an Oscar. The movie nabbed the Best Animated Feature accolade as well. It's releasing in cinemas from Thursday, February 22–Wednesday, February 28. Next up is Turning Red, which'll get projectors whirring from Thursday, February 29–Wednesday, March 6. The setup: what'd happen if the Hulk was a teenage girl, but became a super-cute red panda? Or, finding a different riff on the ol' werewolf situation, what if emotions rather than full moons inspired a case of not-quite-lycanthropy? Writer/director Domee Shi puts these queries at the centre of Turning Red, her debut feature after winning an Oscar for gorgeous 2018 short Bao. Set in 2002, the film focuses on 13-year-old Chinese Canadian high-schooler Meilin Lee (Rosalie Chiang, American Born Chinese), who has strict but caring mum Ming (Sandra Oh, Quiz Lady), loves boy band 4*Town and soon discovers that she's also a red panda in a puberty metaphor. Rounding out the lineup is Luca, which is similarly about transformation. This one takes place in Italy over a gorgeous summer, also spins a coming-of-age tale and nods to Frankenstein as well. Here, teenage sea monsters Luca (Jacob Tremblay, Orion and the Dark) and Alberto (Jack Dylan Grazer, Shazam! Fury of the Gods) just want to fit in, but know that the village they decide to call home wouldn't accept them if they don't take on human form. When they befriend ordinary girl Giulia (Emma Berman, Superkitties) in a quest to win a race to nab a moped, their secret becomes harder to keep — as cinemagoers can see from Thursday, March 7–Wednesday, March 13. Check out the trailers for Soul, Luca and Turning Red below: Pixar Film Fest 2024 Lineup: Thursday, February 22–Wednesday, February 28 — Soul Thursday, February 29–Wednesday, March 6 — Turning Red Thursday, March 7–Wednesday, March 13 — Luca Disney's Pixar Film Fest runs from Thursday, February 22–Wednesday, March 13 at cinemas around Australia and New Zealand, including in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Auckland and Wellington — check out your local picture palace for details. Read our reviews of Soul, Luca and Turning Red.
Do you have a whole shrine filled with gin? A shelf? A decent section of your liquor cabinet? If so, it's likely that many of those bottles hail from Australia's own Four Pillars. And, thanks to the gin-making superstars' just-released new tipple, you're probably about to add to them. From now on, your gin cocktails will all taste like yuzu — because that's the ingredient in the spotlight in Four Pillars' latest drop. The brand has played with fruit before, including just last year; however, this newbie is going straight to its core range. Like its past experiments, the Fresh Yuzu Gin uses locally grown yuzu. In fact, the fruit is grown just up the road from Four Pillars' Healesville base. And, while that's what you'll be tasting in a big way, expect other citrus flavours as well — and even green tea. As Four Pillars co-founder and distiller Cam Mackenzie explains, "yuzu brings amazing aromatics that are a mix of lemon, mandarin, cumquat and grapefruit — all bright and fresh citrus notes — while the addition of finger lime adds some deeper citrus character." "We've also learnt a lot (from the best) in our adventures making gin with Japanese friends, so in our take on yuzu gin, we've used ginger, turmeric and sencha genmaicha, a Japanese green tea with roasted brown rice, for depth of flavour," Mackenzie continues. "[Plus] a canvas of strong pine-needle juniper and a bit of lemon myrtle add a touch of lemon curd." Four Pillars recommends that you drink the Fresh Yuzu Gin in a highball with lots of ice, soda or light tonic, as topped with any kind of citrus garnish (although yuzu would obviously be best). If you're now hankering for a beverage, the new yuzu gin is available from the distillery's website for $80 per bottle, and also from Four Pillars' gin shops at its distillery door in Healesville and its Sydney Laboratory in Surry Hills. It'll start hitting bottle-os throughout April as well. For more information about Fresh Yuzu Gin, or to buy it, head to the distillery's website.
A little over six months ago, Asahi-owned Matilda Bay made Harry Sexton, Phil Sexton (the original founder of Matilda Bay), Miriam White and Andy Dunn redundant. It was a real kick in the guts, but the team didn't let the huge brand defeat them — deciding instead to open a new brewery within the former Temple site in Brunswick. They named the new venture Keeper Brewing, and have decided to focus on brewing just one beer (something almost unheard of within the craft beer industry). They consider themselves perfectionists, and so are giving all their love into crafting one of the best pilsners in Australia. But this doesn't mean that you can only get one kind of beer when visiting the new bar. The team also has a regularly rotating selection of guest beers from independent brewers, plenty of cocktails and a short but well-curated selection of local wines. Both Harry and Phil have a background in winemaking, so this wine list is in very safe hands. The food here is all made to complement the beers on show, featuring dishes like sweet potato and jalapeno croquettes, crispy polenta with honey and blue cheese, pork and fennel sausage rolls, fried schoolfish with house-made tartare sauce, and a very affordable cheese board. In fact, the entire menu is priced well within reason, highlighting the crew's desire to make the brewery bar an accessible community space. Taking this to the next level, the team is also planning to work with artists on exhibitions and gallery evenings, host live music gigs, and get a steady stream of DJs playing long sets — either inside by the steel brewing equipment or out in the courtyard. It's currently a small operation, but Keeper Brewing is working hard to get itself on the map and fight hard for other independent brewers. Co-owner Harry Sexton shared, "The last real mission of this brewery is to be another voice shouting out to our customers about the current state of the brewing industry in Australia. "We have a duopoly — the same as Coles and Woolies — where two big Japanese-owned breweries are controlling nearly 90% of all beer drunk in our country. They have bought up some of the best craft breweries, and brew these beers all over the country in shared breweries. "It really is hard nowadays to work out where your beer is coming from. With Keeper Pilsner, at least you can be sure it's coming from Brunswick." You'll find Keeper Brewing at 122 Weston Street, Brunswick East, open Thursday–Sunday. For more information, you can check out the brewery's website.
In 2022, The Kid LAROI embarked upon his debut headline Australian tour, selling out arenas across the nation and adding more dates to meet demand. Two years later, the Aussie star otherwise known as Charlton Kenneth Jeffrey Howard is returning to local stages again in November 2024. Initially announced in 2023 and due to happen in February 2024, then postponed to October due to trying to confirm a "really big surprise and special guest" and "a bunch of other logistical stuff", The Kid LAROI's The First Time Australian tour is back on. When he hits Melbourne across Friday, November 29–Saturday, November 30, he'll have Migos frontman Quavo and Sydney's ONEFOUR in support. The Kid LAROI has made some changes to the tour itinerary, which is in support of his debut studio album The First Time. This was meant to be his first-ever Aussie stadium tour; however, in the Victorian capital he's playing Rod Laver Arena. The First Time might've been a new 2023 arrival, but The Kid LAROI has been releasing music since 2018 — solo, and also teaming up with everyone from Juice WRLD and ONEFOUR to Justin Bieber. Accordingly, fans can look forward to hearing 'Stay', 'Without You', 'Thousand Miles', 'Love Again', 'Girls' and more come spring.
Cult-favourite Korean fried chicken joint Bonchon made quite a splash when it opened its first Aussie store in Craigieburn at the start of the year. And it's about to make another, as it opens the doors to its newest Melbourne offering, this time in Broadmeadows Central. Especially since Bonchon is saying g'day with some huge Grand Opening celebrations, on Saturday, September 3. Wing it in there from 11.30am and you can load up on your fill of crunchy double-fried signature wings for just $1 a pop. There'll be roving entertainment throughout the day, a balloon artist and a prize wheel you can spin to score chicken-related goodies. Plus, enter Bonchon's massive one-day giveaway for the chance to win a year's worth of free wings for you and four mates. Can't wait that long? Bonchon's also doing a hefty wings giveaway this Friday, August 26, handing out a huge 750 free wings (250 three-piece boxes) from 11.30am.
Anyone who's ever found themselves in the Dromana Industrial Estate already knows it also happens to be an absolute treasure trove of top-notch food and drink. And now, the rest of the world is going to know it too, as 15 of this unassuming precinct's residents band together to form the newly-minted collective, Dromana Habitat. Out to put this abundant pocket of the Mornington Peninsula firmly on the map, Dromana Habitat was conceived as an artisanal precinct celebrating the eclectic mix of makers and producers that call it home. You might already be familiar with some of that lineup — the creators of tasty gluten-free beers at Two Bays, Little Rebel Coffee Roasters with its ethically-sourced beans, the award-winning booze-makers at Jimmy Rum, Jetty Road's expansive brewpub and the legendary Bass & Flinders gin distillery bar, to start. But Dromana Habitat is showcasing a stack of emerging stars and new faces, too, offering plenty of excuses to make the hour-long drive out of Melbourne for a day immersed in artisanal goodness. You'll find a tasting room and bar from the sparkling masters at Rahona Winery, a cosy cellar door by family-run winery Rhino Tiger Bear and a one-stop-shop for ocean-fresh goodies courtesy of Peninsula Fresh Seafood. Festive snack platters will be all the better for a visit to the award-winning Boatshed Cheese, The Vegan Dairy and Mornington Peninsula Cheese Merchants (stay tuned for cheese classes and dine-in options here); while design-savvy visitors will love to mosey about the offerings at Bass Surfboards and Everwear Denim. And if you're looking to spruce up your pad, be sure to drop by the oh-so-aromatic Red Hill Candle Co and lush plant haven Verdant Dwellings. Explore Dromana Habitat in the Dromana Industrial Estate, Dromana, Mornington Peninsula. See more details over on the website.
Having just landed amid Windsor's dynamic dining scene, Duke Lane is bringing a little Latin American fusion to the party. Situated in the home of former local icon Saigon Sally, this new arrival hopes to achieve a similar kind of vibrancy that delivers food, fun and togetherness in spades for both locals and those from further afield. So, what can you expect? Created for sharing, the menu offers a myriad of global culinary influences shaped by founder Dijon Gordon's experiences in Melbourne, London and throughout South America. Showcasing a commitment to loud flavours, fresh ingredients and communal spirit, Duke Lane is primed for top-quality dining and drinks. "The inspiration for Duke Lane comes from a deeply personal place," says founder Dijon Gordon, who has dedicated the venue to the memory of his brother. "I wanted to create a space that embodies celebration, connection, and joy. With great music, an electric ambience, and food designed to be shared, Duke Lane is all about making every dining occasion special." On the menu, a plethora of Latin and local flavours present a fascinating blend of adventurous dishes. Crowd-pleasing highlights include arepitas with slow-cooked beef brisket, guacamole and pico de gallo. As for larger options, the 300-gram porterhouse is flame-grilled and coated in a signature spice rub, served sliced with house-made traditional chimichurri or creamy pepper sauce. Meanwhile, the tres leches cake sees sponge cake soaked in three types of milk, then topped with whipped cream and fresh strawberries. The drinks menu is similarly thoughtful, featuring an expertly crafted cocktail list. Drawing inspiration from near and far, house signatures include The Delightful Turk, featuring Turkish delight gin, cranberry juice and dried roses, while The Sour Duke combines macadamia-infused gin with lemon juice and bitters. For something a little different, a special dessert shot menu offers playful doubles, like the Churro Shot and the Jam Donut Shot. With the venue taking its name from its distinctive laneway-inspired setting on Duke Street, the surrounding streetscape is adorned with striking street art and the upbeat atmosphere synonymous with nearby Chapel Street. Once you step inside, expect a seamless transition into a relaxed atmosphere, perfect for late-night cocktails and conversation. Duke Lane is open Wednesday–Thursday from 5pm–10pm, Friday from 5pm–11pm, Saturday from 12pm–11pm and Sunday from 12pm–10pm at 2 Duke Street, Windsor. Head to the website for more information.
If you're a fan of fringe theatre and love to giggle along to great comedy or are on the hunt for new immersive art installations, then Frankston's South Side Festival should be your jam. Over 45 events and shows will descend on this booming beachside 'burb for ten days as part of the returning multidisciplinary arts festival. Head down anytime from Friday, May 10, until Sunday, May 19, to see how Frankston has quickly become a hub for creativity in Melbourne. [caption id="attachment_950617" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Neon Fields — courtesy of Volter International[/caption] What are some must-try experiences? An easy place to start is Neon Fields, a takeover of Beauty Park with a series of radiant neon art installations. Perfect for posing for the perfect picture or illuminating an evening stroll through the park. The globally renowned Human Library is a must-do. Visitors are invited to 'borrow' a person from a library of people — each of whom has directly or indirectly been exposed to prejudice in their lives — and have an open conversation with them about their lived experiences. There's also the lighthearted House of Fast Fashun, where you can sort through clothing waste to design, wear and model your newly created outfits in hourly runway shows. The festival is also delivering slow fashion workshops in the likes of creative mending and sewing basics. If you fancy a morning dip, join the South Side Sea Soak to get your adrenaline pumping as you reap the rewards of cold water immersion. Or, get your blood and soul pumping in a more emotional way by catching a show from ARIA-nominated Indigenous singer and songwriter Emma Donovan. [caption id="attachment_950613" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Emma Donovan — courtesy of Ian Laidlaw[/caption] Beyond this, you can also expect to catch a 45-artist-strong music film screening followed by a Q&A with the film's director, Claudia Sangiorgi Dalimore, a side-splitting drag comedy show or enjoy a one-man show that blends music, spoken word and film into a story about stories. There are stacks of options to choose from. But don't wait too long to book your tickets—every year, events can sell out well before the festival begins. The South Side Festival runs from Friday, May 10, to Sunday, May 19. For more information on events and to book your tickets, head to the South Side Festival website. Top image: SILENCE. Photo by Simon Woods
When Sony phoned the Narrabri Council to ask if Daft Punk could launch their latest album at the Wee Waa Showground, Mayor Conrad Bolton assumed the proposition was a hoax. "I thought a mate was pulling my leg," he told the Narrabri Courier. But the call was very much for real. A fortnight ago, a group of Sony's hard-hitters jetted to the 2000-person town to determine its suitability for a serious party. They liked what they saw, so May 17 will see the launch of Random Access Memories alongside the region's finest livestock at the Wee Waa Annual Show. Only 4000 tickets are going on sale. Several will be reserved exclusively for members of the Show Society and the remainder will be up for grabs from this Friday at Narrabri's Crossing Theatre. The rest of the French electro band's fans, which number in the millions, will be able to attend the celebration remotely, via live stream. Daft Punk will not be appearing live at the show; the launch of Random Access Memories will take place via playback. Last night, Wee Waa Show president Brett Dickinson told triple j, "We're still pinching ourselves. We don't know why, but why not?" According to Bolton, the tiny town's quintessentially Australian ambiance appeals to Daft Punk's maverick tendencies. "We think Wee Waa is so uniquely Australian, so the folks at Sony Music along with Daft Punk thought it fitted the bill perfectly," he explained to the Courier. "Daft Punk is known for breaking down barriers and coming up with new creative, innovative ideas to launch their albums."
Offering a much-needed coffee spot for the suburb of Cheltenham, Drip Cafe is serving up all your brunch favourites with a touch of Middle Eastern flair. The food is inspired by the Lebanese heritage of owners Ali and Hannah El-Halabi. This husband-and-wife duo is all too familiar with the Melbourne cafe scene, too, having been running Bentleigh East's Poncho Cafe for over five years. Located on what was once a quiet strip of takeaway shops, this modern and playful corner cafe has brought life to a residential bite of the southeastern suburbs. Designed by Elvin Tan, the interior has been transformed with azure blues and crisp whites to create a vibrant, brightly lit space. Having been open just shy of three weeks, the venue's most popular dish to date is the decadent Knafeh French Toast, a menu item Hannah says was a culinary risk that paid off. "Our french toast is inspired by the Lebanese dessert knafeh: a cornflake-crumbed brioche filled with semolina custard and topped with rose water syrup," says Hannah. "My husband told me I was crazy and it wouldn't work — yet here we are." Other beautifully plated, Lebanese-inspired dishes on the menu include the spiced freekeh and lamb salad, veggie patch bowl and orange blossom hotcakes, which are served with caramelised orange and cream — and inspired by the gifts the El-Halabi's relatives send from overseas. "Every Lebanese household cooks with rose water and orange blossom, " says Hannah. "Our friends and family send them from overseas as gifts, and when you visit Lebanon, you always bring some home. Our mums have always used them in our cooking, so it made sense that we did, too." With high-quality coffee a passion of both the Drip Cafe owners and staff, you can expect perfectly crafted cups of joe on Inglewood Coffee Roasters beans, as well as single origin and batch brews. Don't let the cooler weather deter you from visiting Drip Cafe, either, the sunny outside dining area will soon be transformed into a covered courtyard for winter. And this spot is dog-friendly — perfect for both two- and four-legged brunch enthusiasts. Images: Julia Sansone.
Before 2025 is out, BENEE will release her second album. Before that, she's supporting Tate McRae's UK and Europe gigs, and already has a tune on the soundtrack for A Minecraft Movie. That's a huge year for any musician, especially after touring with Wallows in North America and Olivia Rodrigo in Australia in 2024, as well as making her Coachella debut in 2023 and singing the official song of the same year's Women's World Cup with Mallrat. But something else that's massive has been happening for Stella Bennett around the above achievements and highlights, plus her own first world tour in 20222: Head South, her debut film. Written and directed by fellow Aotearoan Jonathan Ogilvie (The Tender Hook, Lone Wolf), Head South is based on his own experiences. The filmmaker calls it "an almost-true story"; "everything in it happened, and mainly to me", he also notes. Given that the movie shot in 2022, then premiered at International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2024, then played New Zealand International Film Festival and hit cinemas in NZ that year, Head South has been a part of Bennett's life for a few years ahead of opening in Australia on Thursday, April 3, 2205. And while she can't wait for what's ahead for her musically in 2025 — "I'm so excited. I love touring. It's pretty fun being on a bus. That makes it weirdly easier, because you're not checking into hotels or being in a sprinter van, but you get rocked to sleep in the bus. It's quite strange. It doesn't sound fun, but it is fun," she tells Concrete Playground — she's always wanted to be in a film. Indeed, she hopes that more will follow. BENEE wasn't actively looking for the project that'd take her to the big screen when Head South crossed her path. "It was just an opportunity that came up," she advises. That said, "I'd definitely been saying that I want to do acting", she also reflects. "I grew up doing auditions and voiceovers, so it was definitely, when it came up, I was like 'heck yeah, definitely, I'm down'." The bug has firmly struck, though, including genuinely seeking out new parts moving forward. "I am. I've just got a new agent in America, so there are hopefully going to be some opportunities. And I want to be in a horror movie. I would love to be in a scary movie." With Head South mining Ogilvie's teenage life for inspiration, Australian talent Ed Oxenbould (Nugget Is Dead?: A Christmas Story) is the picture's lead — and the lone Aussie among the NZ cast and crew, he tells us. As Angus, it's the Puberty Blues, Paper Planes, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, The Visit, Better Watch Out, Wildlife and Irreverent star's task to virtually play his director, and to find himself thrust into Christchurch's post-punk music scene in 1979. Always trying to seem cool, the character swaps his blonde surfer-style locks and trying to pass off parsley as marijuana with his schoolmates for a cropped cut, a bass and the world revolving around Middle Earth Records. Listening to Public Image Ltd, John Lydon's band post-Sex Pistols, is one of those life-changing music moments that every teen has. Attempting to put together the band that Angus claims that he already fronts — endeavouring to impress Malcolm (Demos Murphy, The Gulf), the singer from local favourites The Cursed — isn't as straightforward as he expects, however. Angus' made-up group has a name: The Daleks. It soon has a gig as well, opening for The Cursed. BENEE plays Kirsten, who works the counter at a pharmacy, is a wiz on the guitar and is Angus' only hope for making good on his music claims. That Ogilvie's narrative focuses on a journey sparked by exaggerating to fit in, then scrambling to back it up, is indicative of its warts-and-all honesty. There's warmth to Head South, yet it's also deeply bittersweet as it balances Angus and Kirsten's growing connection, and the former's quest to truly find himself amid his self-doubts — plus "all these cute characters vibing around Christchurch", as BENEE puts it — with more than a few people taking advantage of Angus, the awkwardness with his father (Marton Csokas, Cuckoo) at home after his mother has moved out and navigating a tragedy. In Head South's performances, emotions, personal ties, portrait of a moment in music history in a specific city, soundtrack and aesthetic — scratches and splices among the visuals included — Ogilvie pushes authenticity to the fore. Much about that commitment appealed to both Bennett and Oxenbould; this isn't the kind of project that comes either of their ways often. "You don't see these type of things every day, and that's what immediately jumped out about it, was the quality of it, how unique it was. It was something that I knew nothing about, which is always exciting as an actor, to dive into a different world. And the fact that it was personal and true adds a whole new gravity and weight to it, which makes it really exciting. There was so much about it that was so interesting and tantalising as an idea," Oxenbould says. Among the pair, Oxenbould was the veteran on-screen, but Bennett had the music experience. Drawing upon each other's expertise was a key part of the production for both. We also chatted with the duo about being about to lean on each other, the weight of making a film that's so personal for its guiding force — and, as Oxenbould characterises it, "such a unique mix of genres" — as well as music research and more. On How BENEE Knew That Head South Was the Right Film for Her Movie Debut Stella: "I think when I initially got sent the script and story, I was obviously like 'okay, this is sick'. This is set in Christchurch, in the post-punk scene, which I honestly didn't know a lot about when I first got sent it. And then I read the script and I learned about Kirsten, and I was pretty attached to her quite early on — because I was like 'oh, there's something so vulnerable and sweet and kind of damaged and quirky about this character'. And I just instantly fell in love with the whole story. It just felt right. And also Jonathan was so nice. He was so enthusiastic from the get-go. And I was like 'he believes in me, and I'm so down to be a part of this'. I've always wanted to be in a film. And I love acting. It's a lot of fun. And it's fun to just be a different character, because I feel like my whole thing is BENEE and it's more myself — but performing, but myself. So it was cool to just completely take a different role. I want to be in a horror movie next. I want to be every different kind of character." On Whether It's Daunting Making a Project That's So Personal for Its Director — Including, for Oxenbould, Playing a Version of Ogilvie Ed: "100 percent. It's very daunting. Look, it's good. Thankfully, it was really good that Jonathan wasn't like 'you have to get me word-perfect'. It was so relaxed, and he knew that it was just a basis. And there were things that he changed and stretched in his story, so we found a really good middle ground of character and real life. But it is always daunting, knowing that these things happened to him. It adds to it — it's not just like 'ooh, how would I react?'. There was a lot of me asking him 'how did you react? How did you feel here? How can I try to bring some of that authenticity and truthfulness to that?'. But it is definitely daunting." Stella: "It definitely was. And even I remember that last scene, I feel like I got — as you got — pretty emotional, because I was like 'damn, he went through this and we're just acting this out right now in front of him', and 'what a crazy thing to experience in life' and to do it justice, basically." Ed: "Yeah, that's it. But it is surreal. Like you're saying, Stella, it's kind of weird to think 'ohh, we're acting out this crazy pivotal moment in Jonathan's life'." Stella: "Yeah." Ed: "And he's watching, and there's a whole crew watching." Stella: "You did a great job, mate. You did a great job." Ed: "Thank you. You too." On the Balancing Act of Navigating the Movie's Mix of Comedy, Darkness, Coming-of-Age Antics, Awkwardness and Heartbreak Ed: "It definitely is, but I think it comes down to Jonathan's great sense of direction — that he knew when to reel it in, he knew when to accentuate it. But I think that's also what read in the script, is the sense of humour, and all these gags that were in it that made it really fun and light. And it's also that really nice, quirky, very Kiwi sense of humour, which also just sets it apart from so many other things. But I think he just did such a good job with, on the day and in editing, just really finding that balance of heart and extremities of both sides." Stella: "Definitely. There's so much depth. And like, yeah, you were laughing — like I was hysterically laughing at times —and then other times I'm like 'well, this is dark and kind of twisted' or 'this is really sad'. I feel like that's what I want out of every movie. I want it to make me feel a bunch of things — and then I come out of it, and I feel a little bit hurt, but I also feel kind of hopeful." On the Research Required for a Film Set in the Late 70s, in the Post-Punk Music Scene, Telling a Very Specific Slice of Christchurch Life Ed: "For me, so much of the film is about these experiences that Angus goes through and he's extremely unprepared for them, and he kind of gets taken off his feet. So I had an element of that, of wanting to be a little bit carried away and swept up by the music and by everything. But I think in basic preparation, it was just a lot of looking at a lot of reference material; listening to the music; listening to what came before, what came after, what came during; and just to try to build the scene in your head — so that we were really well-versed in just that world, so that we could do our jobs truthfully and as close as possible to how these people lived and sounded and acted." Stella: "Yeah, totally. And for me, I think what was really helpful was just sitting down with Jonathan and hearing everything that he has to say about that era, and what it was like for him being in a band — because it is so different to how it is now, and making music and releasing and recording music. And he's so passionate about it because he's not only a director but also musician. So just learning from him, and then feeling prepared by that. He was like an encyclopaedia, for real — a thesis." On How BENEE's Music Experience Helped Her Make the Leap to Her First Movie Stella: "Maybe for the performance at the end. That was really fun. But also, I feel like music is my life, so it felt quite comfortable just doing this film because it was all about the music. And yeah, I think that in maybe some subtle ways that it did help me, maybe. I don't know how, but I think it did." On What Oxenbould Makes of His Journey of an Actor, From Starting Out as a Child to the Path That's Brought Him to Head South Ed: "That journey is bizarre. I've been so, so lucky, and I wouldn't change anything. I've met incredible people. I've made my strongest friends by doing it. It's given me access to a whole host of opportunities that are very, very fortunate. So I feel so lucky. But I don't know — I don't really know where it goes from here. I don't know if I hit my peak and now I've plateaued." Stella: "No, you have not." Ed: "Or I'm on a downward spiral. But it's good. It means everything to me. I'm so lucky, and I hope I can continue to do it for the rest of my life. And I'm excited to explore other areas of the industry. It was a fantastic way to learn and to grow up. I've picked up all these great things and it's made me who I am as a person. I'm very, very fortunate to the people who let me get away with all things I get away with." On What It Means to BENEE to Make Her Movie Debut in a Homegrown Film That's So Proud of Being From NZ, and with Such a Strong Connection to Music Stella: "It feels really special and authentic, and just like it was meant to be. It was just the universe being like 'girl, you're going to do this right now and it's going to be really cool'. And it feels really special that it is my home, and I am part of the music, and the music that shapes the music from Christchurch. That made no sense." Ed: "I got it." Stella: "Did you get that? But it does feel pretty special. I wouldn't have wanted it to be any other role. And also just the people, it was so nice. I don't have any other experience of working with actors or directors from America or anything, so it was pretty special that it was on this Kiwi-Aussie bus. Everyone just gets it and is super down to earth and very chill. So it was a great environment to be in, especially as a first-timer, I would say." On Being Able to Lean on Each Other While Making the Film Ed: "100 percent. It's that beautiful acting thing where you just bounce off each other, and you don't realise it but you learn so much from other people. And then by the end you're like 'ohh, thank you'. And it's not this explicit 'let me help you, ;et me sit you down, Buster'." Stella: "No, no." Ed: "You just absorb." Stella: "Yeah." Ed: "It was great." Stella: "It was a lot of fun. It makes it easier, I guess, just being able to vibe with who you're working with in any field — but especially because Ed is so good. I was like 'okay, I'm taking notes and I'm learning, and I'm going to get better at this'. So it was a pretty awesome experience." Ed: "Watching you just perform and on stage — okay, that's how you do it." Stella: "No! I was literally faking the guitar. It was insane. I was learning how to play bass — oh wait, no I wasn't, I was actually playing guitar." On What Oxenbould Looks for in an Australian or New Zealand Project — and What's Special About Working Down Under After His Success Overseas Ed: "It just means a lot more. It's a lot nicer to be talking in your own accent, and talking to people that you know. and you're in a familiar land. It just feels better. It feels nice. It means you can stay and you can work and still live with family. When you work over there, you have to kind of give up — at least I have to give up everything to go over there. But working in Australia, I love. And then working in New Zealand was an honour. I love, love, love, love New Zealand. I love Kiwis. And I was the only Aussie." Stella: "You were." Ed: "I was only one in the cast. I think the only one on the crew. So I was very intimidated." Stella: "New Zealand loves you." Ed: "But you felt very welcomed, and I was very happy. And it meant a lot that that Jonathan trusted me to be the lead of this very distinctly Kiwi film — to get a traitor in the mix." Stella: "No! No. You made peace, bro." On What BENEE and Oxenbould Learned From Making Head South Ed: "You learn so much from every project and every film, which is the best part about it — you just pick up so much from the people, from around you. But I think the main thing that I learned was just about the punk scene. It's just awesome to dive into a whole new topic. And it's not something that I ever would have probably researched or probably would have sought out a lot of information, but then having Jonathan, having this crazy, knowledgeable guy who's just always there and able to fill us in on the gaps of history, it was just great. You walk away learning a lot more about these real institutions that have shaped the music industry here and in New Zealand." Stella: "Totally." Head South opened in Australian cinemas on Thursday, April 3, 2025 — and is available to stream in New Zealand via Arovision.
On the top floor of a CBD pub a magical wizarding rooftop awaits. Located atop Bourke Street's Imperial, it's filled with alcoholic potions, magical wintry booths, an owlery and a supernatural sweet store. And while it's officially opening its doors today, Friday, June 7 — it's not new. The rooftop was originally called Vertic Alley — aka the CBD watering hole's equivalent of Diagon Alley — and originally popped in February. Then, just last month, it suddenly disappeared. While the pub declined to comment on why it vanished, the Age reported that Warner Bros had ordered the themed rooftop's removal, because it used Harry Potter intellectual property. Now, thankfully, it's back. The pub has also declined to comment on whether it has struck a deal with Warner Bros, but it's confident the wizarding wonderland will stick around for winter. So, you can once again climb to the top level of the Imperial and peruse magical books — on everything from herbology to werewolves — find yourself a fancy new robe at a magical fashion shop, practise with wands and drink, of course, many boozy concoctions. Get comfy in sheltered booths (newly installed for winter), practice saying "accio cocktail!" and enjoy an all-round boozy celebration of the Boy Who Lived. Four brand new magical stores (filled with wizard and witch fashion, supernatural sweets, potions and broomsticks) have also popped up in the latest incarnation of the rooftop, as has a brand new cocktail list. The new potions include the Chuckle Juice (gin, rosemary and grapefruit), FireWhiskey (Fireball, lemon and honey), Imperial Tattletale (Fernet Branca, rum, cream and honey) and True Love Potion (pomegranate, gin, sparkling wine and lime), while the food range spans black beef sliders, pumpkin pasties and Korean-fried chicken wines. You can check out the full menu here. The magical rooftop was very popular first time round, and we're sure it'll be the same this time — especially since the The Cursed Child (which is happening just down the road) has been extended until 2020. We recommend you can make a reservation via the Imperial website. Find the Imperial Rooftop at 2–8 Bourke Street, Melbourne. It's open from 11am daily.
There are lots of reasons to spend the day hiking along the Murray River in autumn. The weather is perfect and the air is crisp. It's not so cold you have to wear thermals and not so hot you have to dash from shade-patch to shade-patch. You have the glory of nature, of course — and not regular glory but autumnal glory, which studies show is up to 45 percent more glorious than regular nature. But the ultimate best thing about hiking in autumn? The seasonal food that crops up in country restaurants. After a big day hiking, there's nothing better than cosying up to a big, hearty meal. We've paired some of the best hikes around the Murray River with the tastiest treats to indulge in after you return to civilisation. WANDER THROUGH A BILLABONG THEN A WINERY Mildura is the perfect autumn hiking destination for those of us who also love to eat. It sits alongside a natural billabong that was further irrigated when the region was settled, making it an incredibly fertile food bowl and winery region. Head to the Kings Billabong Walk car park, just north of town, and do the 4-kilometre loop. It's an easy, scenic walk through varied bushland and wetlands. Keep an eye out for wildlife (ducks, spoonbills and kingfishers can be seen on the billabong, doing their thang) and at Psyche Bend, you'll see the original pump house that irrigated the region. Once you've worked up an appetite, head over to Trentham Estate Winery, located on the other side of the wetlands and get a taste of the fresh produce from the region. The winery has an award-winning restaurant, with a balcony overlooking the mighty Murray, open for lunch (12pm–3pm). Alternatively, enjoy their excellent cellar door and charcuterie boards before taking a stroll through the grounds. EXPERIENCE COUNTRY LIFE WITH A PUB MEAL AND HISTORICAL RIVER WALK There are lots of historical towns dotted along the Murray River, and Swan Hill is one of the quaintest examples. The River Walk starts just north of the town centre and winds for 4.5 kilometres down the river. It takes you on a journey through the town and the Indigenous history of the region. It's a flat, easy walk that'll take you about two hours. When you eventually make it back to town, you have some classic country-town food options. For a lighter snack, head to Spoons Riverside and grab a coffee on the river. Or head to one of the many country pubs (try the Commercial Hotel or the Federal Hotel) for a nostalgic pub dinner. It's the perfect way to enjoy a brisk autumn night. Parma and a pot, anyone? TEST YOUR STAMINA AND SPICE TOLERANCE IN SWAN HILL If you're in the Swan Hill region and looking for a more intense hiking experience, head south down the Murray and try the Koondrook Red Gum Forest Walk instead. The full walk is a doozy — 13 kilometres of beautiful red gum forest and wetlands in the Gunbower State Forest. It's best to do it in autumn otherwise you'll work up quite a sweat. Keep your eyes peeled for kangaroos, broad-shelled turtles, and giant banjo frogs, which come out at dusk. There's a shorter 9-kilometre walk too, but both paths are relatively flat and easy-going. Afterwards, we recommend heading back up the road to Swan Hill and checking out Java Spice. It's an incredibly cute, kitschy little Balinese restaurant, with flavoursome food and a relaxing outdoor setting. Stretch out your tired limbs and indulge in a fruity cocktail (you've earned it). TAKE TIME OUT FOR COFFEE, CAKE AND ART DECO IN MILDURA Start with morning tea at the beautiful Mildura Arts Centre. The centre started as a classic country house and now has a contemporary wing. Grab morning tea in their outdoor cafe to fuel you for a day of sightseeing. The sculpture park is the perfect setting for a digestive stroll. Mildura has run a sculpture contest since 1961, so their sculpture game is on point. Wander through the grounds to kick off your walking tour. It's a self-guided tour, so you can go at your own pace while taking in the art deco architecture of Mildura. EAT YOUR WAY THROUGH ECHUCA ON A CULINARY TOUR You have a few options for treating yourself in Echuca Moama. Start with a coffee at 7 Beans Coffee on High Street, but don't linger for long, because there are a few more stops on your culinary tour before you're done. Stop in at The Sweet Meadow down the road. It's a cute cafe with an entirely vegan menu. We recommend the creamy avocado served with pesto and spelt sourdough. When you're done, head over to Beechworth Bakery and stock up on sweet bakery treats for your afternoon adventures. From there, head out to Waaia, where you'll rendezvous with Southern Side Eco Tourism. They organise adventure forays into the Barmah Millewa Forest National Park. With their help, you can go kayaking or hiking deep in the national park with all the trimmings (but be sure to organise ahead of time). For more information on the autumn experiences on offer in the Murray region and across the state, head to the Wander Victoria website.
Get ready to immerse yourself in an array of captivating musical experiences this July at the Primrose Potter Salon Series at Melbourne Recital Centre. From renowned chamber ensembles to soul-stirring performances, these events promise to transport you to new realms of sonic delight. Read on for a more in-depth preview of the excellent lineup. July 1, Benaud Trio – Ornamental Prepare to be spellbound by the remarkable Benaud Trio, one of Australia's most cherished chamber ensembles. With a repertoire that traverses major works and compositions by Australian maestros, their performances are renowned for their passionate renditions and unexpected pop-inspired encores. This performance titled "Ornamental" pays tribute to the extraordinary lives and musical talents of Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn. Join the Benaud Trio as they celebrate the enduring legacy of these two great composers. The afternoon unfolds with the Melbourne premiere of Anne Cawrse's ethereal composition, "Songs Without Words," followed by Trio Op.11 by Fanny Mendelssohn. Find more information here. July 11, Quartz – Langsamer Combining Australian musical brilliance with technique, Melbourne's Quartz string quartet offers their own interpretations of string quartet masterpieces. In the intimate Primrose Potter Salon, Quartz will take you on a musical journey with works by Webern and Beethoven. Anton Webern's Langsamer Satz (Slow Movement) for string quartet, composed during a period of passionate love, exudes longing, dramatic turmoil, and ultimate happiness. Beethoven's Op.127, the first of his legendary 'late quartets,' showcases his profound introspection and unparalleled control. Find more information here. July 22, Rose Riebl – Do Not Move Stones Experience an introspective and cinematic expedition as pianist and post-classical composer Rose Riebl takes the stage. Following her sellout shows around the globe, Riebl presents original compositions from her debut album, do not move stones. Accompanied by a cello trio, Riebl's compositions draw inspiration from Romantic classical composers such as Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky, and Chopin, while embracing contemporary and minimalist influences. Critics describe her music as a distillation of decades of engagement with music, literature, and art. Find more information here. July 27, YO CiTY: Iaki Vallejo – Arisen Colours Experience a harmonious fusion of emotion and melody as singer-songwriter Iaki Vallejo takes the stage alongside virtuosic pianist Martin Pang. Delight in a collection of Vallejo's latest compositions, intertwined with beloved songs that have shaped her musical journey. In a concert titled "Harmonies Unveiled" Iaki's soulful voice dances with Latin American rhythms, jazz melodies and folk music influences. Expect timeless classics, including "Balada para un loco" by legendary composer Astor Piazzolla. Find out more information here. Don't miss the opportunity to embark on these extraordinary musical adventures at Melbourne Recital Centre this July. Each event promises an experience that will resonate long after the final note has been played. Find out more information on Melbourne Recital Centre's website.
The Gertrude Street Projection Festival will light up the night for the tenth year in a row, when it returns to Fitzroy this winter. Running for ten nights from July 21–30, the free community-driven event will once again showcase spectacular light compositions from local and international artists up and down the northside drag. Returning artists Yandell Walton, Ray Thomas, Susan Forrester and Jody Haines are among the Australian artists to be announced so far, with the full program to be made public later this month. In addition to the projections — which last year illuminated everything from shopfronts to footpaths to the trees in the Atherton Gardens — this year's festival will also feature a program of special events, including parties, pop-ups, and live music and DJ sets, plus a few culinary offerings to tempt you out into the cold from 6pm till midnight each night.
Long before getting cosy on the couch meant living the streaming dream, not all movies made it to cinemas, just as happens now. Back then, though, that's where the term 'straight to video' came in. Then, it was 'straight to DVD'. At the moment, if a film doesn't flicker in a picture palace, it's a straight-to-streaming release. Some such movies do receive a big-screen run, but only at a film festival. Others were only ever bound for watching at home. Either way, just because they didn't light up your local multiplex or arthouse go-to for weeks on end, that doesn't mean these flicks aren't worth a look. Indeed, some of 2023's viewing highlights are straight-to-streaming films — whether you're fond of Oscar-nominated documentaries, Aubrey Plaza-led heist flicks, walk-and-talk rom-coms, unsettling horror gems or intimate portraits of famous faces. With 2023 now into its second half, we've made our picks of the year's best straight-to-streaming gems from January–June. Obviously, you can watch them all now. ALL THAT BREATHES Pictures can't tell all of All That Breathes' story, with Delhi-based brothers Nadeem Shehzad and Mohammad Saud's chats saying plenty that's essential. In the documentary's observational style, their conversation flits in and out of the film — sometimes, there's narration, too — giving it many meaningful words. Still, the images that Shaunak Sen (Cities of Sleep) lets flow across the screen in this Sundance- and Cannes-winner, and also 2023 Oscar-nominee, are astonishing. And, befitting this poetic meditative and ruminative doco's pace and mood, they do flow. All That Breathes' main pair adore the black kites that take to India's skies and suffer from its toxic air quality, tending to the creatures' injuries. As Sen watches, he adores them as well. Viewers will, too. Indeed, if there wasn't a single syllable uttered, with the movie just leaning on cinematographers Ben Bernhard (Talking About the Weather), Riju Das (14 Phere) and Saumyananda Sahi's (Trial by Fire) sights, plus Niladri Shekhar Roy ('83) and Moinak Bose's (Against the Tide) sound recording, the end result still would've been revelatory. This film trills about urban development, its costs and consequences, and caring for others both animal and human — and it says oh-so-much. It notes how everything that the earth's predominant inhabitants do has environmental impacts for the creatures that we share the planet with, including quests for economic dominance and political control. All That Breathes peers on as its subjects' tasks get harder even as they earn global attention, receive more funding and build their dream hospital. It sees how they put the majestic kites' wellbeing above their own, even as the numbers of birds needing their help just keeps growing. This is a documentary about animals falling from the skies due to pollution, two siblings trying to help them soar again, why that's so vital and what the whole situation says about life on earth — and it's vital and spectacular viewing. All That Breathes streams via Binge. EMILY THE CRIMINAL Enterprising, astute, intelligent and accepting zero garbage from anyone: these are traits that Aubrey Plaza can convey in her sleep. But she definitely isn't slumbering in Emily the Criminal, which sees her turn in a performance as weighty and layered as her deservedly Golden Globe- and Emmy-nominated portrayal in the second season of The White Lotus — something that she's been doing since her Parks and Recreation days anyway. Indeed, there's more than a touch of April Ludgate-Dwyer's resourcefulness to this crime-thriller's eponymous figure. Los Angeles resident Emily Benetto isn't sporting much apathy, however; she can't afford to. With $70,000 in student loans to her name for a college art degree she isn't using working as a food delivery driver, and a felony conviction that's getting in the way of securing any gig she's better qualified for for, Jersey girl Emily breaks bad to make bank when she's given a tip about a credit card fraud ring run by Youcef (Theo Rossi, Sons of Anarchy). Her simple task: purchasing everything from electronics to cars with the stolen numbers. Writer/director John Patton Ford makes his feature debut with this lean, sharp, keenly observed and tightly paced film, which works swimmingly and grippingly as a heist thriller with plenty to say about the state of America today — particularly about a society that saddles folks starting their working lives with enormous debts, turning careers in the arts into the domain of the wealthy, and makes even the slightest wrongdoing a life sentence. Emily the Criminal is angry about that state of affairs, and that ire colours every frame. But it's as a character study that this impressive film soars highest, stepping through the struggles, troubles and desperate moves of a woman trapped not by her choices but her lack of options, all while seeing her better-off classmates breeze through life. As she usually is, Plaza is mesmerising, and adds another complicated movie role to a resume that also boasts the phenomenal Ingrid Goes West and Black Bear as well. Emily the Criminal streams via Binge and Netflix. HUESERA: THE BONE WOMAN The sound of cracking knuckles is one of humanity's most anxiety-inducing. The noise of clicking bones elsewhere? That's even worse. Both help provide Huesera: The Bone Woman's soundtrack — and set the mood for a deeply tense slow-burner that plunges into maternal paranoia like a Mexican riff on Rosemary's Baby, the horror subgenre's perennial all-timer, while also interrogating the reality that bringing children into the world isn't a dream for every woman no matter how much society expects otherwise. Valeria (Natalia Solián, Red Shoes) is thrilled to be pregnant, a state that hasn't come easily. After resorting to praying at a shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in desperation, neither she nor partner Raúl (Alfonso Dosal, Narcos: Mexico) could be happier, even if her sister Vero (Sonia Couoh, 40 Years Young) caustically comments that she's never seemed that interested in motherhood before. Then, two things shake up her hard-fought situation: a surprise run-in with Octavia (Mayra Batalla, Everything Will Be Fine), the ex-girlfriend she once planned to live a completely different life with; and constant glimpses of a slithering woman whose unnatural body movements echo and unsettle. Filmmaker Michelle Garza Cervera (TV series Marea alta) makes her fictional narrative debut with Huesera: The Bone Woman, directing and also writing with first-timer Abia Castillo — and she makes a powerfully chilling and haunting body-horror effort about hopes, dreams, regrets and the torment of being forced into a future that you don't truly foresee as your own. Every aspect of the film, especially Nur Rubio Sherwell's (Don't Blame Karma!) exacting cinematography, reinforces how trapped that Valeria feels even if she can't admit it to herself, and how much that attempting to be the woman Raúl and her family want is eating away at her soul. Solián is fantastic at navigating this journey, including whether the movie is leaning into drama or terror at any given moment. You don't need expressive eyes to be a horror heroine, but she boasts them; she possesses a scream queen's lungs, too. Unsurprisingly, Cervera won the Nora Ephron Award for best female filmmaker at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival for this instantly memorable nightmare. Huesera: The Bone Woman streams via Shudder. ROBE OF GEMS In the very first moments of her very first feature as a director — after working as an editor on films such as 2012's Post Tenebras Lux and 2014's Jauja — Natalia López demands her audience's attention. She earns it and ensures it as well, and looking away while Robe of Gems unfurls its story is impossible afterwards. To kick things off, a patient and painterly glimpse at the rural Mexican landscape comes into sight, fading up and bringing more and more dusty grey details with it with each second. Then, without the frame moving, a frenetic man is seen bashing and slashing through the plants. Next, it becomes apparent that there's a reflection as part of the image. And, it's also quickly evident that viewers are seeing someone else's vantage as they look on at the landscape. In fact, a couple peers out, in the middle of getting intimate (and immediately before flinging wooden furniture around, strewn pieces flying everywhere). With the 'start as you mean to go on' maxim in mind, it's a helluva opening. López does indeed begin as she goes on, in a film that scored her 2022's Berlinale's Silver Bear Jury Prize. The pivotal villa belongs to Isabel's (Nailea Norvind, Julia vs Julia) family, and offers somewhat of a respite from a marriage that's splintering like that thrown-about furniture, with the clearly well-to-do woman settling in with her children Benja (first-timer Balam Toledo) and Vale (fellow debutant Sherlyn Zavala Diaz). But tension inescapably lingers, given that the onsite caretaker María (newcomer Antonia Olivares) is unsettled by the disappearance of her sister, a plot point that makes a purposeful statement. The police are investigating, the cartel has a local presence, corruption is an ever-present force, and the gap between the wealthy and not-so is glaring. Progressing carefully from that powerhouse opening, Robe of Gems quickly seeps under your skin — and as its first visuals make abundantly clearly, every second is a marvel to look at. Robe of Gems streams via Prime Video and Madman on Demand. RYE LANE When Dom (David Jonsson, Industry) and Yas (Vivian Oparah, Then You Run) are asked how they met, they tell a tale about a karaoke performance getting an entire bar cheering. Gia (Karene Peter, Emmerdale Farm), Dom's ex, is both shocked and envious, even though she cheated on him with his primary-school best friend Eric (Benjamin Sarpong-Broni, The Secret). It's the kind of story a movie couple would love to spin — the type that tends to only happen in the movies, too. But even for Rye Lane's fictional characters, it's a piece of pure imagination. Instead, the pair meet in South London, in the toilet at an art show. He's crying in a stall, they chat awkwardly through the gender-neutral space's wall, then get introduced properly outside. It's clumsy, but they keep the conversation going even when they leave the exhibition, then find themselves doing the good ol' fashioned rom-com walk and talk, then slide in for that dinner rendezvous with the flabbergasted Gia. It's easy to think of on-screen romances gone by during British filmmaker Raine Allen-Miller's feature debut — working with a script from Bloods duo Nathan Bryon and Tom Melia — which this charming Sundance-premiering flick overtly wants viewers to. There's a helluva sight gag about Love Actually, as well as a cameo to match, and the whole meandering-and-nattering setup helped make Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and Before Midnight an iconic trilogy. That said, as Rye Lane spends time with shy accountant Dom, who has barely left his parents' house since the breakup, and the outgoing costume designer Yas, who has her own recent relationship troubles casting a shadow, it isn't propelled by nods and winks. Rather, it's smart and savvy in a Starstruck way about paying tribute to what's come before while wandering down its own path. The lead casting is dynamic, with Jonsson and Oparah making a duo that audiences could spend hours with, and Allen-Miller's eye as a director is playful, lively, loving and probing. Rom-coms are always about watching people fall for each other, but this one plunges viewers into its swooning couple's mindset with every visual and sensory touch it can. Rye Lane streams via Disney+. DUAL New movie, familiar query: what would you do if you physically came face to face with yourself, and not just by looking in a mirror? Films about clones, including all-timer Moon and the recent Mahershala Ali (Alita: Battle Angel)-starring Swan Song, have long pondered this topic — and so has the Paul Rudd-led series Living with Yourself. In Dual, there's only one legal option. This sci-fi satire shares Swan Song's idea, allowing replicating oneself when fate deals out a bad hand. So, that's what Sarah (Karen Gillan, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3) does when she's told that she has a rare but terminal disease, and that her death is certain. Cloning is meant to spare her boyfriend Peter (Beulah Koale, Shadow in the Cloud) and her mother (Maija Paunio, Next of Kin) from losing her, making a difficult situation better for Sarah's loved ones. But when she doesn't die after all, the law states that, just like in Highlander, there can be only one. To decide who lives, Sarah and her doppelgänger must fight to the death in a public dual — with Trent (Aaron Paul, Better Call Saul) helping train the OG version. Even with its twist, on paper Dual sounds like a feature that any filmmaker could've made — one that any actor could've starred in, too. But this is the meaty, meaningful and memorable movie it is thanks to writer/director Riley Stearns and his excellent lead Gillan. With his penchant for deadpan, the former pondered working out who you truly are through an unlikely battle in 2019's very funny The Art of Self-Defense, and does so again here. He's also fond of exploring the struggle to embrace one's personality, and confronting the notion we all have in our minds that a better version of ourselves exists. That said, Dual plays like a sibling to The Art of Self-Defense, rather than a clone itself. It'd certainly be a lesser flick without Gillan, who sheds her Nebula makeup, wades out of the Jumanji franchise's jungles, and turns in two powerful and nuanced performances as Sarah and Sarah 2.0. And while Paul is in supporting mode, he's a scene-stealer. Dual streams via Netflix. TETRIS The greatest game in the world can't make the leap to screens like most of its counterparts, whether they involve mashing buttons, playing campaigns or attempting to sink ships. A literal adaptation of Tetris would just involve four-piece bricks falling and falling — and while that's a tense and riveting sight when you're in charge of deciding where they land, and endeavouring to fill lines to make them disappear, it's hardly riveting movie viewing. As a film, Tetris is still gripping, however, all while telling the tale behind the puzzle video game that's been a phenomenon since the 80s. Did you have your first Tetris experience on an early Game Boy? This is the story of how that happened. Starring Taron Egerton (Black Bird) as Henk Rogers, the man who secured the rights to the Russian-born title for distribution on video game consoles worldwide, it's largely a dramatised account of the fraught negotiations when the west started to realise what a hit Tetris was, Nintendo got involved, but Soviet software engineer Alexey Pajitnov had no power over what happened to his creation because that was life in the USSR. Egerton is perfectly cast as the resourceful, charming and determined Rogers, a Dutch-born, American-raised, Japan-residing game designer who stumbles across Tetris at a tech conference while trying to sell a version of Chinese strategy game Go. First, his assistant can't stop playing it. Soon, he's seeing blocks in his dreams, as everyone does after playing (and then forever). Director Jon S Baird (Stan & Ollie) and screenwriter Noah Pink (Genius) have a games licensing battle to unpack from there, something that mightn't have been as thrilling as it proves — and certainly is no certainty on paper — in other hands. Stacking up this real-life situation's pieces involves becoming a savvy takedown of shady business deals, a compelling Russia-set spy flick and an exploration of daily existence in Soviet times, plus an upstart underdog story. And, Tetris does all that while gleefully and playfully bringing in the game's aesthetic, and blasting an appropriately synth-heavy soundtrack. Tetris streams via Apple TV+. GUY RITCHIE'S THE COVENANT Announcing his cinematic arrival with a pair of slick, witty, twisty and fast-paced British heist flicks, Guy Ritchie achieved at the beginning of his career something that many filmmakers strive for their whole lives: he cemented exactly what his features are in the minds of audiences. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch made "Guy Ritchie movie" an instantly understood term, in fact, as the writer/director has attempted to capitalise on since with differing results (see: Revolver, RocknRolla, The Gentlemen and Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre). Ritchie's third film, the Madonna-starring Swept Away, has also proven just as emblematic of his career, however. He loves pumping out stereotypical Guy Ritchie movies — he even adores making them Sherlock Holmes and King Arthur flicks, with mixed fortunes — but he also likes leaving his own conventions behind in The Man From UNCLE, Aladdin, Wrath of Man and now Guy Ritchie's The Covenant. Perhaps Ritchie's name is in the title of this Afghanistan-set action-thriller to remind viewers that the film does indeed boast him behind the lens, and as a cowriter; unlike with fellow 2023 release Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, they wouldn't guess otherwise. Clunky moniker aside, Guy Ritchie's The Covenant is pared down, gripping and intense, and home to two excellent performances by Jake Gyllenhaal (Strange World) as Master Sergeant John Kinley and Dar Salim (Tatort) as his interpreter Ahmed. As the former leads a team that's looking for IED factories, the pair's collaboration is tentative at first. Then a raid goes wrong, Ahmed saves Kinley's life, but the recognition and support that'd be afforded an American solider in the same situation doesn't go the local's way. Where Afghan interpreters who aid US troops are left after their task is complete is a weighty subject, and treated as such in this grounded and moving film. Guy Ritchie's The Covenant streams via Prime Video. STILL: A MICHAEL J FOX MOVIE Anyone who lived through the 80s and/or 90s spent a large portion of both decades watching Michael J Fox. Thanks to Family Ties on TV and the Back to the Future movies in cinemas, he was everywhere — and courtesy of Teen Wolf, Doc Hollywood, The Frighteners and Spin City as well. The list of the beloved star's work from the era goes on. Forgotten one or some? Watch Still: A Michael J Fox Movie and you'll be reminded. This intimate documentary steps through the star's life, career and Parkinson's Disease diagnosis using three main modes: splicing together clips from his resume to help illustrate his narration, chatting with Fox now in candid to-camera segments, and hanging out with him and his family as he goes about his days. Each aspect of the film adds something not just important but engaging; however, all that footage from his time as Alex P Keaton, Marty McFly and more offers firm proof, if any more was needed, that Fox was an on-screen presence like no other three and four decades back. Oscar-winning An Inconvenient Truth documentarian Davis Guggenheim both shows and tells, always letting Fox's own words do the talking. Still: A Michael J Fox Movie takes the birth-to-now route, observing that its titular figure was always a kid on the go, then a teen who found himself in acting — a place where he could be anyone, regardless of his short stature — and then an aspiring actor slogging it out in Hollywood until he scored not one but two big breaks. The film also examines the fame and success, Fox's thinking that this'd now be his status quo, the moment his life changed and everything that's followed since. Yes, it notes that this story would've been completely different if Eric Stoltz had kept his Back to the Future job. Also, as Fox's memoirs are on the page, it's supremely self-deprecating. Still: A Michael J Fox Movie is unflinchingly honest, too, especially about his relationship with his wife Tracy Pollan — who, when asked how she is, Fox replies "married to me, still". Still: A Michael J Fox Movie streams via Apple TV+. NIMONA Bounding from the page to the screen — well, from pixels first, initially leaping from the web to print — graphic novel-to-film adaptation Nimona goes all in on belonging. Ballister Boldheart (Riz Ahmed, Sound of Metal) wants to fit in desperately, and is willing to do whatever it takes to achieve it. In this animated movie's medieval-yet-futuristic world, there's nothing more important and acclaimed than being part of the Institute for Elite Knights, so that's his aim. Slipping into armour usually isn't possible for someone who grew up on the wrong side of this realm's tracks, as he did, but Ballister has been given a chance by Queen Valerin (Lorraine Toussaint, The Equalizer), who says that anyone can now be a hero. Alas, just as he's about to have his sword placed upon his shoulder with all the world watching, tragedy strikes, then prejudice sets in. Even his fellow knight-in-training and boyfriend Ambrosius Goldenloin (Eugene Lee Yang, Star Wars: Visions), who boasts family ties to legendary monster-slaying heroine Gloreth (Karen Ryan, Under the Banner of Heaven), believes that Ballister is responsible. His only ally? Nimona's namesake (Chloë Grace Moretz, The Peripheral), a shapeshifter who offers to be his sidekick regardless of his innocence or guilt. Nimona usually appears as a human girl, but can change into anything. The shapeshifter also wants to belong — but only by being accepted as she is. Unlike Ballister's feelings of inferiority about being a commoner, Nimona is happy with morphing from a kid to a rhinoceros, a whale to a shark, then between anything else that she can think of, and wouldn't give it up for anyone. Indeed, when Ballister keeps pestering her for reasons to explain why she is like she is, and asking her to remain as a girl, she's adamant. She already is normal, and she rightly won't budge from that belief. Animated with lively and colour animation that sometimes resembles Cartoon Saloon's Song of the Sea and Wolfwalkers, Nimona is a family-friendly adventure and, as penned as a comic by ND Stevenson (She-Ra and the Princesses of Power), also a clear, impassioned and sincere allegory for being true to yourself. As a film, directors Nick Bruno and Troy Quane (who also teamed up on Spies in Disguise) and screenwriters Robert L Baird (Big Hero 6) and Lloyd Taylor (another Spies in Disguise alum) ensure that it remains a thoughtful delight. Nimona streams via Netflix. PAMELA, A LOVE STORY If you weren't aware of Pamela Anderson's recent Broadway stint, bringing the razzle dazzle to a production of Chicago in 2022, Ryan White (Good Night Oppy)-directed documentary Pamela, A Love Story will still feature surprises. Otherwise, from Playboy to Playbill — including Baywatch, sex tapes and multiple marriages in-between — the actor's story is well-known around the globe. Much of it played out in the tabloids, especially when she married Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee in a white bikini after four days together. She also graced what can easily stake a claim as the internet's first viral video, after intimate footage of Anderson and Lee was stolen, then sold. And that very experience was dramatised in 2022 limited series Pam & Tommy, including the misogynistic way she was treated compared to her spouse, how her rights to her image and privacy were considered trashed due to her nude modelling days, and the unsurprising fallout within her relationship. No matter how familiar the details are, Pamela, A Love Story does something that little else on-screen has, however: it lets Anderson tell her story herself. Much of the doco focuses on the Barb Wire and Scary Movie 3 star in her childhood home in Ladysmith on Canada's Vancouver Island, watching old videos, reading past diaries and chatting through the contents. She's recorded and written about everything in her life. Sitting in front of the camera without a trace of makeup, with her sons Brandon and Dylan sometimes talking with her, she gives her account of how she's been treated during the highs and lows of her career. The film coincides with a memoir, Love, Pamela, so this is a tale that Anderson is currently on the page and in streaming queues — but it's still a powerful portrait of a woman made famous for her appearance, turned into a sex symbol to the point that male interviewers in the 90s could barely talk about anything else, then cruelly judged and discarded. She's frank and sincere, as is the movie amid its treasure trove of archival footage. Pamela, A Love Story streams via Netflix. WEIRD: THE AL YANKOVIC STORY If you've seen one music biopic, or some of the flicks that've earned actors Oscars or nominations in recent years for playing well-known rock stars — think: Bohemian Rhapsody and Elvis — then you know how this genre usually plays out. So does Weird Al Yankovic, who is strongly involved in Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, co-writing, producing and even popping up on-screen. He doesn't give himself a solemn screen tribute, though. For decades, he's found pop music rife for satirising, and now his career spent spoofing hit songs gets sent up as well. The soundtrack is already hilarious, filled as it is with everything from 'My Bologna', 'I Love Rocky Road' and 'Another One Rides the Bus' to 'Eat It', 'Like a Surgeon' and 'Amish Paradise'. The casting is brilliantly hilarious as it is hilariously brilliant, too, with Daniel Radcliffe (The Lost City) sporting a mop of curls, grasping an accordion and wearing Yankovic's Hawaiian shirts like he was born to. Silly, happily self-mocking, not serious for a second: that's this joke-packed flick, which isn't quite as stuffed with gags as a typical Weird Al song, but is still filled with laughs — and still immensely funny. Unsurprisingly, much of Weird: The Al Yankovic Story plays like a collection of skits and sketches, whether visiting his childhood, showing how he scored his big break or charting his fame (which is Westworld's Evan Rachel Wood as a comical Madonna comes in), but it works. Yankovic co-writes with director Eric Appel, a parody veteran thanks to NTSF:SD:SUV, and they're joyfully on the same goofy, go-for-broke wavelength. So is Radcliffe, who keeps demonstrating that he's at his best when a certain Boy Who Lived is relegated to the past, and when he's getting as ridiculous as he possibly can. Forget the wizarding franchise — he's magical when he's at his most comic, as Miracle Workers keeps proving, and now this as well. Weird: The Al Yankovic Story streams via Paramount+. CONFESS, FLETCH Since Mad Men had Don Draper want to buy the world a Coke to end its seven-season run back in 2015, comedy has been Jon Hamm's friend. He's the ultimate TV guest star, building upon stints in 30 Rock and Parks and Recreation while Mad Men was still airing with Toast of London, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Curb Your Enthusiasm, on a resume that also includes The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret, Childrens Hospital, Medical Police, Angie Tribeca, The Last Man on Earth and Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp as well. So, casting him as the new Irwin Maurice 'Fletch' Fletcher couldn't be an easier move. Having fellow Mad Men standout John Slattery (The Good Fight) also appear in the latest flick about the investigative reporter, and the first since the Chevy Chase-led movies in the 80s, is another winning touch. Even if that reunion wasn't part of the film, Hamm is so entertaining that he makes a killer case for a whole new Fletch franchise — on whatever screen the powers-that-be like — with him at its centre. Hamm clearly understands how well he suits this type of character, and the genre; he's a comic delight, and he's also one of Confess, Fletch's producers. Superbad and Adventureland's Greg Mottola directs and co-writes, scripting with Outer Range's Zev Borow — and ensuring that Hamm and Slattery aren't the only acting highlights. Working through a plot that sees Fletch chasing a stolen artwork, discovering a dead body, and both looking into the crime and considered a suspect himself, the film also features engaging turns by always-welcome Twin Peaks great Kyle MacLachlan and Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar gem Annie Mumolo. There have been several attempts to revive Fletch over the past three decades, including separate projects with Ted Lasso duo Bill Lawrence and Jason Sudeikis — on the page, the character spans nine novels — but viewers should be thankful that this is the action-comedy that came to fruition, even if it skipped cinemas everywhere but the US. Confess, Fletch streams via Paramount+ and Binge. HUNGER Let's call it the reality TV effect: after years of culinary contests carving up prime-time television, the savage on-screen steps into the food world just keep bubbling. The Bear turned the hospitality industry into not just a tension-dripping dramedy, but one of 2022's best new shows. In cinemas, British pressure-cooker Boiling Point and the sleek and sublimely cast The Menu have tasted from the same intense plate. Now Hunger sits down at the table, giving viewers another thriller of a meal — this time focusing on a Thai noodle cook who wants to be special. When Aoy's (Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying, One for the Road) street-food dishes based on her Nanna's recipes get the attention of fellow chef Tone (Gunn Svasti Na Ayudhya, Tootsies & the Fake), he tells her that she needs to be plying her talents elsewhere. In fact, he works for Chef Paul (Nopachai Jayanama, Hurts Like Hell), who specialises in the type of fine-dining dishes that only the wealthiest of the wealthy can afford, and is as exacting and demanding as the most monstrous kitchen genius that fiction has ever dreamed up. There's more to making it in the restaurant trade than money, acclaim and status, just like there's more to life as well. As told with slickness and pace, even while clocking in at almost two-and-a-half hours, that's the lesson that director Sitisiri Mongkolsiri (Folklore) and screenwriter Kongdej Jaturanrasamee (Faces of Anne) serve Aoy. She's tempted by the glitz and recognition, and being steeped in a world far different from her own; however, all that gleams isn't always palatable. Plot-wise, Hunger uses familiar ingredients, but always ensures that they taste like their own dish — in no small part thanks to the excellent casting of Chuengcharoensukying as the film's conflicted but determined lead. A model also known as Aokbab, she proved a revelation in 2017's cheating heist thriller Bad Genius, and she's just as compelling here. The two movies would make a high-stakes pair for more than just their shared star, both sinking their teeth into class commentary as well. Yes, like The Menu before it, Hunger is also an eat-the-rich flick, and loves biting into social inequity as hard as it can. Hunger streams via Netflix. VENGEANCE When Vengeance begins with a New Yorker journalist who's desperate to start his own podcast, Soho House hangouts and relationship advice from John Mayer as himself, it begins with rich and savvy character details. Writing, starring and making his feature directorial debut after helming episodes of The Office and The Mindy Project, BJ Novak instantly establishes the kind of person that Ben Manalowitz is. He shows the East Coast world that his protagonist inhabits, too — and, by focusing on the only guy in NYC without their own audio outlet, or so it seems, plus that romantic guidance, it splashes around its sense of humour. This is a sharply amusing mystery-comedy, and a highlight on Novak's resume in all three of his guises. It's also about subverting expectations, and lampooning the first impressions and broad stereotypes that are too often — and too easily — clung to. Indeed, Vengeance bakes in that idea as many ways as it can as Ben (Novak) does the most obvious thing he can to convince his producer (Issa Rae, Insecure) that his voice is worth hearing: bursts his Big Apple bubble. The Mayer bit isn't just a gag; it helps set up Ben as the kind of person who is dating so many women that he doesn't know which one has died after he gets a bereaved phone call from Texas in the middle of the night. On the other end is Ty Shaw (Boyd Holbrook, The Sandman), brother to Abilene (Lio Tipton, Why Women Kill), who insists that Ben head southwest immediately to attend her funeral — she claimed that they were serious enough that she's his girlfriend, after all. Upon arrival, the out-of-towner initially regards his hosts as jokes, and their lives and Abilene's death as content. Ty thinks she was murdered, and Ben couldn't be giddier about getting it all on tape and calling the series Dead White Girl. The journo's self-interest is up there with his obliviousness about anything that doesn't fit into his NYC orbit; however, this isn't a culture-clash comedy — thankfully — but a clever, self-aware and ambitious satire. It's also strikingly shot and features a standout performance by Ashton Kutcher (That '90s Show) as a suave record producer. Vengeance streams via Netflix and Binge. Looking for more viewing highlights? Check out our list of film and TV streaming recommendations, which is updated monthly. We've also picked our top 15 movies that hit cinemas in the first half of 2023, as well as the 15 best new TV shows and 15 best returning TV shows of the year so far.
Regina George and the Plastics told us that Wednesdays are for wearing pink. In fact, they've advised us of that more than once. But on Wednesday, February 7, the middle of the week is for eating doughnuts without spending a cent, too, to promote the latest Mean Girls film. All day, Donut King is handing out freebies — and keeping Australians happy with their eponymous blend of sweets and carbs. The chain is known for its hot cinnamon doughnuts, and that's exactly what it'll be giving away at participating stores across Australia. Donut King hasn't advised exactly how many doughnuts are up for grabs, and it is a while-stocks-last affair. The big caveat, other than the first-in-best-dressed rule: there's a limit of one free hot cinnamon doughnut per person. Also, you do have to hit up a Donut King shop in-person, with the giveaway not available for deliveries. The brand's locations include everywhere from Chatswood and Top Ryde to Leichhardt and Hurstville in Sydney; Northcote, Sunshine, The Pines and Southland Westfield in Melbourne; Brisbane's Indooroopilly, Carindale, Chermside and Mt Gravatt; Perth's Ocean Keys and Midland Gate; and Adelaide's Glenelg, Tea Tree Plaza and more. But, you will need to check if your local Donut King outpost is taking part. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Donut King (@donutking_au) The new Mean Girls movie adapts the stage musical based on the OG 2004 movie, stars Australian actor Angourie Rice as Cady Heron and hit cinemas in January. Check out the trailer below — before, during or after tucking into a free doughnut: Donut King is giving away free doughnuts on Wednesday, February 7 at the chain's participating stores around the country. To find your closest shop and check its opening hours, head to the Donut King website.
When Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt got bantering while presenting a tribute to stunt performers at the 2024 Oscars, they weren't just there to playfully riff on the Barbenheimer phenomenon, or ignite a Barbie versus Oppenheimer rivalry. They had a film to spruik, aka the Sydney-shot The Fall Guy — and while that Academy Awards stint might've been the best promotion any movie needs, a new trailer has dropped for the flick anyway. For much of his career, Gosling has perfected on-screen smouldering. He's the kind of actor who can utter few words and still convey everything, as movies such as Drive and Only God Forgives demonstrated so well. But Gosling is also exceptional at comedy, which Barbie reminded the world in 2023 with glorious ballad-crooning, beach-loving Kenergy. Next, cinema's baby goose is getting into action-comedy mode in The Fall Guy. Based on the 80s TV series of the same name, the film follows stuntman Colt Seavers (Gosling), whose career isn't what it used to be. After taking time off, he's back at work getting set on fire for a living — but the fact that his ex Jody Moreno (Emily Blunt, Oppenheimer) is directing brings chaos. That's just the first dose of the movie's mayhem. Also complicating matters: that megastar actor Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bullet Train), who Seavers is meant to be doubling for in Moreno's flick, has gone missing. So, the stunt professional now has another task: work out what's going on by solving a conspiracy. If you're thinking "wasn't Gosling in the stunt game in Drive?", you're correct; however, The Fall Guy couldn't be in more different territory tonally. That said, when Ted Lasso's Hannah Waddingham tells Gosling "you're a stuntman — nobody's going to notice you, that's your job", in The Fall Guy's trailers (the first arrived back in late 2023), you'll already know that his casting means that's never going to prove true. As well as finding a missing actor, getting immersed in action intrigue to unravel a criminal plot, saving his latest movie and doing his regular job, Seavers is on a mission to win back Moreno — but IRL stuntman-turned-filmmaker David Leitch, who also helmed Bullet Train, Atomic Blonde, Deadpool 2 and Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, puts stunts to the fore as much as rom-com banter in the initial sneak peek. Written by Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw scribe Drew Pearce, The Fall Guy co-stars Everything Everywhere All At Once Oscar-nominee Stephanie Hsu, plus Winston Duke (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever). Also a big feature in its trailers so far: its Sydney shooting location, including George Street, the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Everyone in Australia knows that Gosling was in the country to make the movie — and we all know that any flick shot here will show off that fact in its footage, as seen in the also Sydney-made Anyone But You recently as well. On the small screen, The Fall Guy ran for 113 episodes from 1981–86, starring Lee Majors after his best-known role in The Six Million Dollar Man. Check out the latest trailer for The Fall Guy below: The Fall Guy releases in cinemas Down Under on Wednesday, April 24, 2024.
When you're fresh from donning armour and sparking an international frenzy in one of TV's biggest franchises, what comes next? For Ryan Corr, following up his stint as Ser Harwin Strong in House of the Dragon means sliding into a six-part Brisbane-shot ABC dramedy about loss and mental health. In its themes, tone, scale and budget, In Limbo is in another world to Game of Thrones and its prequel series — it's about a thirtysomething man struggling with the sudden death of his best friend and his mental health in general, and it's also a supernatural buddy comedy — but the Australian star wouldn't have that contrast of parts any other way. "I guess subconsciously, I try to get them as different as possible, like going from a bikie to a man in a suit," Corr says of picking his roles two decades into his career. "I think that I do that because I've done this since I was a kid, and I'm in pursuit of that challenge, and knocking down boundaries that I didn't think I could necessarily do." Corr has done plenty since earning his first screen credit as a teenager in Aussie series The Sleepover Club. Most homegrown TV shows since have featured the charismatic actor, from Blue Heelers, Neighbours, Underbelly and Tangle to Love Child, Cleverman, Hungry Ghosts and Wakefield — and, of course, his 60-plus-episode run on Packed to the Rafters. On the big screen, he made his movie debut in the film adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are, then added everything from rom-com Not Suitable for Children and horror sequel Wolf Creek 2 to biopic Holding the Man and bikie drama 1% to his resume, plus Ali's Wedding, Mary Magdalene, Ladies in Black and High Ground as well. Across a body of work with no shortage of highlights, his two most recent projects still stand out. House of the Dragon had Corr playing the strongest man in the Seven Kingdoms and, amid the global attention that followed, sparked an onslaught of 'Six Things You Might Not Know About Ser Harwin Strong' and 'Ryan Corr Has Gone From Blue Water High to Westeros'-style articles. "I don't see myself as a six-foot-five strong knight, and sure as hell not the strongest man in the Seven Kingdoms," he says. "But the challenge was how do I replicate that in my idea of what strength is and what the essence is? And can I portray that?" In Limbo, which is streaming now on ABC iView and airing weekly on ABC TV, swaps physical brawn for emotional vulnerability. After crane operator Charlie loses his lifelong best mate Nate (Bob Morley, Love Me), everything unsurprisingly changes, but Nate remains a presence in his life from the afterlife. "When I got the script, it really moved me. I found it laugh-out-loud funny, and really upsetting at times — and I thought it was really fresh. I don't think we've tried to deal with themes like this in quite this way before," Corr advises. There's a sense of responsibility that comes with a series like In Limbo, as well as that challenge that Corr is always seeking. Thanks to its subject matter, the show always felt personal while he was making it, too. Corr chatted with Concrete Playground about all about the above, having a profound reaction to the project, balancing In Limbo's tones and themes, his past year and his career highlights so far. ON MAKING A COMEDY THAT'S THOUGHTFUL AND WEIGHTY — AND IN LIMBO'S PERSONAL FEEL "There was a much longer rehearsal process than usual, where we just got to sit down together, weigh in and talk about what we were about to tackle subject-wise — and there were safety networks all around us while we did so — and also start to share and open up about our own lives and experiences, both direct and indirectly, to do with loss, so that we could develop trust together as people while we navigate these ideas. Because I think the series has to have heart. I found that everyone in the making of it — the crew all up in Brisbane, everyone that read this script — had a profound reaction to it and said 'I want to be a part of this'. I think you can feel everyone leaning into it in the final product. I hope so. I've, of course, experienced loss, as have most people that I know. I think it's a very personal tale. I very much based Charlie's relationship with Nate on some of my early childhood friends, who are a bridge past that now — we're not friends anymore, they're more like brothers and sisters, they are my family. So I very much know where that relationship lives, and the idea of losing one of them is the earth-shattering. We all actively worked through it, communicating with each other, personalising what we've been through and were going through, so that we could trust each other — and so you can invest the series with that heart and that meaning. I don't think it's possible if you don't." ON DRAWING UPON REALITY TO INFORM IN LIMBO'S MIX OF TONES AND GENRES "When I lost my grandfather, I was sitting around with a group of my friends and family, and we're all holding hands as he was literally leaving. And he did something funny in some of his final breaths, he made a funny noise or something. And so I found that my family were all holding each other and crying, and then laughing all of a sudden. We were saying goodbye to someone we love, and all of a sudden he made one of the funny noises and we laughed, and there was a wonderful lesson in that — it had both. And I think in life, it has both. And what In Limbo tries to explore is that — I think In Limbo is more about life than it is about death. Strangely, in the losing of Nate, Charlie discovers more about himself in the pursuit of trying to find answers about Nate. He becomes closer to his family, and it exposes things, it brings things to the forefront that he may have not been dealing with previously. And in a strange way, Nate guides Charlie through — in death, Nate helps Charlie through his life. And it's about the way that the people that are left continue to live, the way they come together, and the way they support each other and water those relationships and friendships, and help each other grieve and process. And that's what life is, you know? And within that, within this thing that we call life, there are often — at least I've found — moments of hysterical laughter, of mundane things that make you lose your shit laughing." ON PREPARING FOR IN LIMBO "Like with all characters, there are some parts that you research and some parts of yourself. I have some experiences with mental health myself personally, and with my family and with my friends. So it's not hard for me to go to places where I was in darker spaces with my anxiety and depression, and knowing what that felt like, and not being able to see the light. One the things that In Limbo brings up is that it's not always visible. In fact, it's very, very rarely visible. And I remember, just simply for me personally, that it wasn't until I was going through some shit for a couple of years until I was like 'oh, I don't think I'm happy right now' or 'I think what I'm feeling is muted. I don't feel the highs. I don't feel the lows'. I remember that being rather confronting, like 'oh [how long] have I felt like this for?". One of things that In Limbo tries to do is shed a bit of light on that. You ask more often if people are okay. When they say that they are, it's not always necessarily the full story. And it's about just trying a little further, it's about asking a little more and it's about checking on yourself. Everyone in In Limbo, we all have to pull from our personal worlds. This is an intimate story, and it's about family and it's about loss. So researching things like this, you have to draw from things in your own life, and then have an environment where you can leave that at the door and feel safe to expose it with other people and be safe going home afterwards. I think they very much made that environment for us." ON THE RESPONSIBILITY THAT COMES WITH TACKLING MENTAL HEALTH "It's not our responsibility to give answers or to hammer over the head any of our ideas around this — it's about starting a conversation, and I think that everyone in the creative process very much took that responsibility on board, and tried to keep that close through the shooting of it as our as our main drive. Our number-one prerogative was to take that responsibility seriously. You have responsibility to all characters you play. If you're doing it properly, it has to cost you something — and particularly with something like this, there's no phoning it in. So we made sure that being comfortable around dealing with these things, both as performers and as people, was right the forefront. And that we weren't trying to hand people any simple answers." ON WHAT CORR LOOKS FOR IN A PART "It can be a number of things, but usually something that challenges me or that I don't think I can do initially — something where I go 'all right, now we're gonna go over here'. It's about challenge and primarily it's about chase. It's about the pursuit of great writing and great directors. When you have language on your side, when you have great ideas on your side, that's the pursuit of this industry. It's raising to those writers and it's raising to those ideas — not making it about yourself and saying 'this is how it is when I feel', it's about trying to play your part in the whole of the narrative. It's really the pursuit of writing that excites me — and directors that, when you sit down and have meetings with them, the way they talk about their ideas gets you excited and inspires you, and you can see it as they talk. It's working with creatives who have a similar pursuit as I do." ON JUMPING FROM HOUSE OF THE DRAGON TO IN LIMBO "Obviously there's a difference in the scale and the reach, but honestly there's not a big difference between In Limbo and Thrones. There's more people, but it's ultimately always the same job. In fact, if anything, I find that the the bigger they get and the more expansive, the less personal they become, and the less involved with the people you're working with. You can shoot a scene over half a week [on House of the Dragon] — one scene of a sequence over half a week. On In Limbo, we're shooting 16 scenes the day and then waking up at 4am to do it again the next day. And we had bugger all time to do it in, like five weeks, so it becomes a completely different exercise in trusting each other. [With House of the Dragon] you just expand upon that. Instead of going into a house that we've decked out in Brisbane, it's a giant setpiece that is an operational castle — you can walk up the stairs, and there's 30 people teaching someone dance for next week, teams and teams of people. It's the same thing extended upon, obviously, because there's huge amounts of money involved, and because the shows are so big. I just tried to go in and fill Harwin's shoes the best way I knew how. There wasn't a huge amount of him in the book, so I had to fill in the lines. That part of it was exactly the same as sitting in the lounge room with In Limbo… working through these scenes, mining them for the best ideas, workshopping the best ways to do it, rehearsing it and then getting out there and trying to give it our all." ON THE PROJECT ON CORR'S RESUME THAT STANDS OUT "Honestly, every one — but two things. Kevin Jackson is my acting mentor who's just recently passed away — he was the acting teacher at NIDA for many, many years, and is responsible for framing the lives and artistry of many people that I know, including myself. I went at 17. I'd done teen shows, and I made the decision at that age — I was like 'I want take this seriously and I want to study it'. So I took myself out of the industry, went to drama school and that's where I met a man in Kevin that taught me what great writing was and how what we did was above ourselves. Like I say, he is 'the writer is God'. He's the reason that I pursue writing the way that I do. It's not about how you feel, it's not about bringing it down to you. It's about pain reaching these ideas. Can you make something of these ideas? And therefore it's universal. When I was growing up, I took a lot of my lessons, my understanding of emotion, my understanding of love, my understanding of grief, from a lot of the films that I inhaled. That was my go-to, that's what spoke to me and that felt important to me. And so, if I'm going to do it as my career, Kevin was very much a pivotal part of helping me understand what it is that we do. Also Holding the Man, I would say as an experience, as a film, working with [director] Neil Armfield, working with Tommy [playwright and screenwriter Tommy Murphy]. And having for the first time the yardstick of what I was doing, as my job slightly changed. It wasn't just 'here's my version of a character and I hope it's good' — it was someone's family. And I met that family, and I had them hand over their journals and their personal belongings, and I had his friends reach out from all throughout Melbourne. And we had the Victorian AIDS Council say, 'hey, can we can we do rehearsals here?'. I was just overwhelmed with the amount of compassion and the amount of love that reached towards us in doing it. And it made me realise that my job here wasn't to do a good job — it was to represent a real person's memory and their legacy and their love to the absolute nth degree that I possibly can. That felt important and, like with In Limbo, I felt a responsibility to the people that I was playing and to what it meant, and that really resonated with me throughout the years. It's not like you can have jobs like that all the time, but it really did entrench what this industry, what this thing that I call a job, what the arts can be and what it can do and how important it is." In Limbo streams via ABC iView. Read our full review. House of the Dragon streams via Binge. Read our full review.
It's the most wonderful time of the year, a time when it's socially acceptable to eat as much ice cream as humanly possible under the guise of "staying cool". And while ice cream on its own is delicious, it's almost always better when surrounded by crunch and more sugar — in other words, as an ice cream sandwich. To help you eat maximum ice cream this summer, we've put together a list of our favourite ice cream sandwiches in and around Melbourne. So if you do one thing during the warmer months, make it a culinary tour of the city's most creative and delicious ice cream sangas. BILLY VAN CREAMY Starting as an organic gelato truck rolling around Melbourne, Billy van Creamy opened at bricks-and-mortar store in Fitzroy North two years ago. A passion project from two Perth-born brothers, Billy van Creamy is all about making authentic and ethical ice cream by hand. With their permanent digs sorted, the boys started to experiment with some new inventions, including one of our favourite collaborations of all time — the BillyBing. A scoop of gelato sandwiched by two dark chocolate Butterbing cookies, the sweet sanga can be found at their store and their still-functioning truck. Let the Billybing addiction begin. MILKCOW Soft serve might seem like the something reserved for children and late-night Maccas runs, but Milkcow is out to prove that it's still cool. The South Korean soft serve joint creates epic desserts centred on the icy treat, and its latest creation has taken Melbourne by storm. It's a watermelon wedge filled with vegan and dairy-free watermelon ice cream and sprinkled with Himalayan pink salt. If that wasn't enough, the seeds adorning the outside are made from chocolate chips. Your Instagram followers will thank you for sampling (and snapping) this treat, available at both the St Collins Lane and Swanston Street stores for a limited time. MY TWO MUMS The two talented ladies behind My Two Mums have created some of the best ice cream sandwiches going around. Rolling around Melbourne in a bright blue truck, the ladies source local, free range and organic ingredients to create eco-friendly and delicious ice cream sandwiches. Cookie flavours include M&M, pistachio and cardamom, and of course classic chocolate chip, while ice cream can be anything from strawberry to choc mint, white chocolate to raspberry, depending on the day. Head to My Two Mums' social pages to find the truck and choose your very own flavour combo. HUXTABURGER While it may be better known for its epic savoury creations, burger-haunt Huxtaburger also creates a pretty divine ice cream burger. For only six bucks you can enjoy a vanilla ice cream patty rolled in Huxtacrunch (crushed pastry flakes) and drizzled in your choice of chocolate or caramel sauce. It's then encased in a slider-sized brioche bun. While it might not be a classic ice cream sanga, it's still a pretty great way to cool down on a hot summers afternoon. Available at Huxtaburger stores across the city. DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE You'll have to venture out of the city for this one, but it's well worth the trip to Templestowe. Falling somewhere between badass breakfast and divine dessert, Down the Rabbit Hole's waffle ice cream sandwich is held together by a lemon and blueberry semifreddo. Held together by two gingerbread waffles and finished with tangy lemon curd, blueberry gel and crunchy meringue, the Maxi John is an ice cream sandwich on steroids — and it's certainly not for the faint of heart. CODA While it might not be the first venue that springs to mind when you hear "ice cream sandwich", Coda, hidden away on Flinders Lane, actually makes one of the city's best. A creation from head pastry chef Kay-Lene Tan, the chocolate chip cookie ice cream sandwich contains banana sorbet and is served with salted caramel pearls. It might be a little fancier than your average ice cream sanga, but it's certainly worth making a reservation to sample this delectable dessert. BISTRO MORGAN If, when it comes to ice cream sangas, you share the mentality of a 16-year-old, Bistro Morgan's offering may be just for you. Founded by teenager Morgan Hipworth, this South Yarra doughnut emporium serves ice cream sandwiches that you can essentially build from scratch. It's pretty simple – first you pick a doughnut, next choose an ice cream and finally you add any mix-ins or drizzles your heart may desire. While it sounds easy, it's certainly not boring, with doughnut flavours ranging from Hershey's cookies and cream to strawberry jam and drizzles including Fruit Loops and Gaytime crumbs. THE MEATBALL & WINE BAR The only way to finish a meal at the Meatball & Wine Bar is with one of its famous Whoopie Macs – a Meatballs twist on a classic ice cream sammie. First you choose your cookie – pick from ginger, chocolate, lemon shortbread or pistachio meringue — then select either salted caramel, fig and almond, cherry or chocolate and hazelnut. And voila — an ice cream sandwich will be delivered to your table before you can say "whoopie". CUPPA TURCA Once you've tried a Turkish-style ice cream sandwich, you may never go back to a "regular" one. Using stretchy Turkish ice cream, or dondurma, Northcote cafe Cuppa Turca serves the icy treat between two slices of crispy hand-rolled baklava. It's then topped with hot pink Persian fairy floss. For those who are after something a little less extra, there's a more tame version served between two thin wafers. Whichever sandwich you pick, order it with a cup of coffee made on hot sand – a true Turkish delight.
Smith Street’s record haven is unpretentious and laidback, leaving you to browse uninterrupted. Music is separated by genres and major artists at The Searchers, who also keep their newer releases separate for those who aren’t interested in trawling through the second-hand section (their loss). We’ve had a surprising win in their hip hop and rap sections before, but it’s the old school rock 'n’ roll and disco sections that are particular goldmines.
We take travelling seriously at Concrete Playground. Whether you're planning luxury getaways abroad, interstate camping trips, weekend jaunts to a city or bathing beachside, our team of avid travellers and destination-obsessives like to think we've got all the necessary tips for where to eat, drink, stay and hang out to get your itineraries in the best possible shape. But it has come to our attention that we've lapsed in our advice when it comes to what to put in your luggage. So, what must-have travel essentials should you be bringing with you on your next trip to make packing for your holiday a simple and stress-free task? In partnership with the folks at Kmart, we're going to share our top tips for packing, depending on what kind of adventure you are about to embark on. Carry-on Connoisseurs If you are attempting to eschew those ever-increasing checked luggage bag fees but aren't quite keen on stuffing a pillowcase with all your belongings, it might be time to assess what you are actually packing. If you've committed to confining yourself to cabin baggage alone, pack items that can do multiple jobs. A simple button-up shirt can be casual with jeans and a tee, a throw-on layer over swimwear, or be dressed up by buttoning it up and tucking it into your pants. Dresses are the ultimate outfit saviour if you favour a single-item outfit. With a simple hairstyle or accessories, a dress can take you from chill brunch to a luxe wine-tasting or fine-dining experience. Don't put yourself out, and ensure you are always looking your best, whether you are sipping on sparkling next to the Riviera or exploring food markets in Japan. Luxury Lovers There's nothing more luxurious than having options for everyday activities on your five-star getaway. But with all your outfit choices, how can you keep tabs on your belongings? Easy, get yourself organised with luggage organisers. Packing cubes are excellent for all kinds of travellers, whether you're hiking the Great Dividing Range or booking yourself into a relaxing retreat. Keep your items organised, from your electronics to your toiletries, your swimwear to your evening wear. With the right travel accessories, you'll never have to worry about where your perfect evening outfit or super luxurious sunhat is. International Explorers If you're that person who is constantly returning from an overseas trip and planning the next one, you probably need new luggage. All that travelling plays havoc on your baggage. From the usual wear and tear of being pulled through the terminals to the stress of being chucked around on baggage chutes, bus racks, taxi boots and more. Before you start planning your next vacation, make sure your bags are in good nick for overseas travel. You don't want to have to be scouring local supermarkets for duct tape. Get yourself sorted with a stylish new set, and you're basically halfway ready for your next adventure. Weekend Warriors Do you keep your eyes peeled for budget-friendly interstate flights or car hire sales for your next weekend escapade? Much like the Carry-on Connoisseurs above, you're only going for the weekend, so make sure you pack lightly (so you can fill your car/suitcase with all the local goodies you can). Whether you're heading for the hills or journeying to a dense metropolis, walking shoes are a must. No matter if you are a guy planning a luxe trip to the south Pacific or a gal heading to the mountains, the ratty trainers you've been rocking to the gym simply won't do (and neither will that stylish new pair you're yet to break in). Get comfy, versatile walking sneakers or boots that match your fave 'fit for city exploring or countryside wandering and wear them on the way to your weekend destination. Adventure Seekers If you love spending your weekends exploring the bush or hiking up mountains, it's important to be prepared and get your camping gear in order. A sturdy shoe, head torch and waterproof pack can make or break a weekend — so be prepared for every kind of weather and dress for the elements to change. Remember: it's cold at night, even during an Aussie summer. If you're a keen camper, stock up on gas fuel for your stove and a first aid pack (with sunscreen and bug spray). It's the times that you need it that you don't have it. Don't put yourself in that position and get prepped for adventure. Foodie Fanatics Do you spend your holidays sampling wines, tasting local produce and snagging the best dinner reservations in town? Dress to impress and pack a skirt that can bring you from the market to the restaurant in an instant. Whether you're more of a mini, midi, or maxi skirt kind of person, a stylish skirt can elevate your outfit for the perfect look for embarking on your epicurean adventure. Discover more of your must-have travel essentials over on Kmart's website.
Joining a stable of popular venues that includes the likes of Lucky Coq, Bimbo Deluxe and the Portsea Hotel in 2023, the Albert Park Hotel jumped back onto the post-COVID scene with a contemporary new look and a modern Chinese food offering. The full revamp has gifted the space with a new four-storey atrium and old-meets-new interiors bringing new life to the venue's original brickwork and historic features. A contemporary food offering from Head Chef Karloong Yee is available throughout the venue, but takes centre stage within the restaurant, Happy Valley, with a menu that fuses familiar Chinese flavours with modern technique and local ingredients. Expect dim sum aplenty, alongside the likes of san choi bao, peking duck pancakes and a kung pao chicken laced with facing heaven chilli. Char siu pork pairs with black pepper and honey, and ice cream comes with a five-spice doughnut. You can match snacks — perhaps barbecue pork buns or seafood spring rolls — with a few crisp brews and some footy in the front bar, or take advantage of the Aussie-led wine lineup and a reserve list that's at once high-end and affordable. For cocktails, signatures include spins on palomas, sours, old-fashioned's and plenty of original pours. Images: Simon Shiff Appears in: The Best Pubs in Melbourne for 2023
What do The Simpsons, Star Wars and Shrek have in common? They've all graced the big screen, they clearly share a love for the letter S and they're each huge hits. Oh, and they've all inspired their own firmly adults-only stage parodies, as pop-culture favourites starting with the 19th letter of the alphabet happen to do in Australia, it seems. Somebody once told us that Shreklesque is the burlesque and drag take pop culture's favourite green ogre that you didn't know you needed — and we're telling you that now. (And no, nobody informed you two decades ago that the animated hit would turn out like this, because no one could've predicted it.) On the bill at the aptly named show: the kind of irreverent and raunchy take on all things Shrek that The Bad Collective will be serving up with its upcoming The Stripsons, too — and, while Shreklesque has been around for a couple of years now, earning awards and acclaim in the process, the Aussie production is hitting the road for a national and New Zealand tour in 2022. That means that it's time to make a date with a production that might share a general storyline and a fondness for the colour green with the much less satirical — and actually family-friendly — Broadway hit Shrek the Musical, which came our way a year or so back, but couldn't be more different in a heap of ways. If you're wondering who had the brainwave to turn Shrek into a burlesque show, that'd be Trigger Happy as Shreklesque's creator and director. For this tour, the show's cast includes Bebe Gunn, Rainbow, Tugboat Tiffy, Baron Von Envy, Henny Spaghetti, Barbie Banks, Selin Tian, Rosaline DeRussi, Indea Sekula and De La Vinx. Wearing green is obviously recommended — although you'll be seeing plenty of it on-stage anyway. And if this is exactly your sense of humour when it comes to beloved pop-culture commodities, all that glitters is gold, naturally. SHREKLESQUE AUSTRALIAN TOUR 2022 DATES: February 18–20: The Flamingo at Gluttony, Adelaide June 3–4: Enmore Theatre, Sydney June 11: The Princess Theatre, Launceston June 15–18: The Tivoli, Brisbane June 24: The Astor, Perth June 29–July 2: Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne July 8–9: The Opera House, Wellington July 16: Entertainment Centre, Darwin Shreklesque tours Australia and New Zealand throughout 2022, starting in Adelaide in February, then picking back up again in June and July. Head to the show's website for further details and tickets. Images: SomeFX.
Take an everyday pastime, then add drinks — so far, that's been Funlab's kidulting way. It worked with bowling, as Strike has shown. It proved a smash at the chain's Holey Moley mini golf bars. With arcade and carnival games, it's been a hit at Archie Brothers Cirque Electriq and B Lucky and Sons as well. And, when the brand opened its first Hijinx Hotel in Sydney this winter, the same idea met escape rooms — or challenge rooms, as is Funlab's spin. This summer, Melburnians will also get to experience the latter, with Hijinx launching its first Victorian location. Setting up shop at Chadstone at a yet-to-be-revealed date, Hijinx will join the shopping centre's new entertainment and dining precinct, which has been dubbed The Social Quarter. Also set to settle in: fellow Funlab brands Strike Bowling, Holey Moley and Archie Brothers, for knocking down pins, tapping around 18 pop culture-themed greens, getting a sideshow experience and, at Archie Brothers, mashing buttons in a 4D XD theatre. The big drawcard is Hijinx Hotel, of course. And if you're new to the concept, it's basically an OTT nostalgia bomb. Willy Wonka would've been proud to dream it up if the fictional character branched out beyond making chocolate and candy — and the Chadstone site will come with ten game rooms filled with challenges. When is a hotel not really a hotel? When it's a hotel-themed bar that decks out its interiors like somewhere you can stay — taking a few cues from Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel and The Shining's Overlook Hotel, in fact — but doesn't actually include slumbering in its rooms. And when is an escape room bar not at all an escape room bar? When it takes the escape room concept of theming different spaces — those aforementioned hotel-style rooms — and decks them out with challenges instead. Yes, the premise behind Hijinx Hotel needs a bit of explaining. It also gleans inspiration from all those supremely Instagrammable pop-up installations that include ball pits, but this one is sticking around Chadstone permanently. Plus, it'll jam in bars for cocktail-sipping opportunities, nod to New York hotels in its facade, and overflow with homages to movies and board games from the 80s and 90s. Escapism is clearly the name of the game here, and partying like you would've before you were old enough to drink alcohol — but with the hard stuff definitely on offer. Wondering what that entails? If Melbourne's Hijinx Hotel mimics its Sydney counterpart, you'll enter via the faux hotel lobby bar that's full of colour and surrealist touches. Instead of merely checking in, though, you'll down cocktails in a neon-lit space and hang out in booths. As for the not-quite-hotel rooms themselves, you'll gain access by heading to reception t0 pick up a swipe card. And if you're wondering about the theming, Sydney's spot features games inspired by Twister, Scrabble and Tetris — called Poke A Dot, Scrambled and Shape'n Up — as well as a Big-style piano room with a giant keyboard across the floor. Exactly what'll be included in Melbourne hasn't bee confirmed, but the Sydney venue also has a Draw Me Like One Of Your French Girls room, which is designed to make you feel like you're in the middle of a sinking ship; a pastel ball pit that resembles a huge bowl of cereal; a room that releases balls from the top of the wall like you're in a life-sized pinball machine; and another that's all about shooting hoops. Find Hijinx Hotel at Chadstone Shopping Centre, 1341 Dandenong Road, Chadstone, Victoria, from a yet-to-be-confirmed date this summer. We'll update you when an exact opening date is announced. For further information in the interim, keep an eye on the venue's website. Images: Hijinx Hotel Sydney.
This Brunswick Street mainstay packs a visual punch from the moment you peek through the front window, lush and brimming with that renowned collection of greenery and fresh blooms. Founded way back in 1989, the business has won itself a stack of awards and pulled scores of high-profile clients, known both for its sharp curations and innovative work. Supplies from some of the country's leading specialist growers ensure some truly impressive bouquets and arrangements, whether you're shopping for something small or mighty — like the endlessly dramatic Rouge creation. Keep an eye out, too, for some unique floral species grown in founder Cherrie Miriklis' own grand Dandenong Ranges garden.
Masters of Aussie-made juniper spirits of the rare and unusual kind, small batch distillery Four Pillars have added another offering to their tasty, boozy range. While their rare dry, spiced Negroni and bloody Shiraz varieties remain favourites for plenty of reasons, they're now serving up their first pre-mixed bottled cocktails. Meet the Improved Hanky Panky, an amber concoction that screams warm weather drinks — that is, the type that go down smooth and easy while you're sitting back in the sun. It's a collaboration between Shaun Byrne of Maidenii and Gin Palace, and Four Pillars' own Sam Ng. After Byrne gave the distillery a few Maidenii vermouth barrels, they used them to age a batch of Four Pillars Navy Strength Gin, then aged the results in old chardonnay barrels, and finally added in vermouth, Fernet-Branca and absinthe. Yes, that's quite the alcohol-filled creation, and it's now available for $32 per 200ml bottle — which holds three cocktails — or $90 for a three-pack. Four Pillars suggests serving it neat over ice with a few slices of orange as a garnish. We suggest that it's the excuse to down a few refreshing beverages, not that gin lovers need a reason.
When Sydney Film Festival looks backwards in 2025, as it does every year with a featured retrospective, it'll be following in its own footsteps several times over. The work of Iranian director Jafar Panahi has graced its screens again and again over the fest's history. More than a decade ago, in 2011, a retrospective just like this also highlighted some of his movies alongside those of his compatriot Mohammad Rasoulof, in fact. Long may this trend continue; a filmmaker this bold and daring should always be in the spotlight. Panahi's body work speaks for itself — and also speaks to his ongoing fight to chronicle contemporary Iran and the reality of life for its people, a battle that he's kept waging despite repercussions regularly coming his way. By his nation's ruling regime, the writer/director has been banned from filmmaking, and also from travel. He's been arrested and imprisoned as well. Indeed, it isn't just his movies that send a message of resistance; his quest to make them, to retain the right to do so, and the pursuit of freedom that goes with that ceaseless campaign, is also a statement. SFF's 2025 Jafar Panahi: Cinema in Rebellion program is celebrating its namesake with a program of all ten of his features, all screening across the festival's dates of Wednesday, June 4–Sunday, June 15. From 1995's The White Balloon to 2022's No Bears, audiences can witness Panahi's progression as a filmmaker — and how his exploration of existence in Iran, especially for women and others suffering oppression and censorship (including himself), has evolved and solidified over almost three decades. With every one of his titles, SFF attendees will also watching be award-winning pictures. The White Balloon gave Panahi his first Cannes accolade, for best first film. Then 1997's The Mirror took home the Locarno International Film Festival's Golden Leopard, 2000's The Circle nabbed Venice's Golden Lion, 2003's Crimson Gold earned an Un Certain Regard prize back at Cannes and 2006's Offside collected a Silver Bear in Berlin. More Cannes love came for 2011's This Is Not a Film (the Carrosse d'Or at the Director's Fortnight) and 2018's Three Faces (for best screenplay), plus more Berlin recognition for 2013's Closed Curtain (another Silver Bear) and 2015's Tehran Taxi (the Golden Bear), and more again from Venice for No Bears (a Special Jury Prize).
Australia's just scored what looks set to be its most inclusive music festival yet, with sports and radio legend Dylan Alcott announcing a strong lineup for the debut of his event Ability Fest. Helping to launch the Paralympian's charity, the Dylan Alcott Foundation, next month, the festival's being co-helmed by Untitled (the entertainment group behind Beyond The Valley and Pitch Music & Arts) and it's one that caters to everyone, regardless of gender, disability, age or race. With Ability Fest, Alcott's set out to both normalise disability and help boost inclusivity across all areas of the music industry. With 20 percent of Aussies living with a physical or intellectual disability, it's high time an event like this was added to the festival calendar. A massive lineup — including Zimbabwean-born singer-songwriter Tkay Maidza, disco guy Harvey Sutherland and a back-to-back DJ set with Flight Facilities and Client Liaison — has dropped today, with all artists donating their time. Melbourne's Coburg Velodrome is being transformed into a fully accessible live music venue for the event, complete with a bunch of viewing platforms for those in wheelchairs and AUSLAN translators for all acts on the main stage. Ability Fest is hoping to raise $300,000 through ticket sales and donations, with all of it headed directly to the Dylan Alcott Foundation. This will then be used to offer mentoring, scholarships and grants to marginalised young Australians with disabilities. Image: LR Photography.
Mona has never shirked attention. Tasmania's Museum of Old and New Art has welcomed it, in fact, whether it's bringing in 80 tonnes of sand, is allowing music fans listen to the sole copy of Wu-Tang Clan's Once Upon a Time in Shaolin or is part of a TV show about potentially eating Australia's invasive animal species — and that's just in the past year. Also part of the venue's story over the past 12 months or so: the legal proceedings around Ladies Lounge, the feminist installation created by artist and curator Kirsha Kaechele, which was taken to court due to an anti-discrimination complaint. Two big developments impacted Ladies Lounge in 2024: first, in April, the Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal ruled that it must start letting men enter; then, a September decision by the state's Supreme Court upheld Mona's appeal, permitting it to reopen for women only to continue to make its statement about the lack of opportunity historically offered to ladies by such spaces. Kaechele did indeed relaunch the installation, but only briefly, while flagging that it could go on tour. So, after ending its run at its original home in January 2025, Ladies Lounge is now headed to the Gold Coast. Each year, the coastal Sunshine State spot turns over much of the city to Bleach*, its annual arts festival. This year, Ladies Lounge is on its lineup. This is the first time that it will pop up beyond Mona, and therefore also beyond Tasmania, with the Gold Coast's HOTA, Home of the Arts playing host to the feminist space. "Yes, some boys may be allowed in for domestic arts lessons and reparations," the fest advises. Bleach* 2025 runs from Thursday, July 31–Sunday, August 10, also covering music, opera, drama, food and more, all at festival hubs a HOTA, Kurrawa Park and Emerald Lakes. It has more big art names attached, too. Australian visual artist Michael Zavros is the festival's guest Artistic Director for the year, curating a program that spans 100-plus events. Among them, Patricia Piccinini's Skywhale and Skywhalepapa are on the lineup, and will float through the Gold Coast's skies. That's how Bleach* will kick off at sunrise on its first 2025 day. "It's such a thrill to come on board as guest Artistic Director and launch Bleach* 2025. We've been shaping this festival for some time now, and it's incredibly rewarding to see the program come to life and finally share it with our audiences," said Zavros, announcing this year's bill. "We've dreamed big this year — pushing for bold, ambitious moments — and it's exciting to see those ideas realised in such powerful ways. Bleach* continues to play a vital role in the Gold Coast's arts and culture scene, and this year's program is a true reflection of the city's creative spirit and growing artistic ambition." Among the festival's three world premieres of works created on the Gold Coast, plus five Queensland premieres and plenty of other must-sees, other highlights include opera, classical music and dancing horses taking over Kurrawa Beach; artist Jeff Koons getting chatting at an exclusive in-conversation event; and Selve's new album Breaking Into Heaven performed in full with lasers, Karul Projects dancers and the Australian Session Orchestra outdoors at HOTA. Or, there's also Drum As You Are, a family-friendly Nirvana tribute — one of the iconic band's albums is called Bleach, after all — that'll feature both professional and community drummers. Unsurprisingly given that he's steering this year's festival, you can also see Zavros' Drowned Mercedes, the sculpture that was first unveiled in Brisbane in 2023 and, yes, features a 1990s Mercedes-Benz SL convertible filled with water. Zavros is also taking part in life-drawing sessions, Melissa Spratt and Tal Fitzpatrick are teaming up to showcase how textiles can be comforting in public space, and Josh Cohen's Radiohead for Solo Piano II will be in the spotlight. Bleach* 2025 runs from Thursday, July 31–Sunday, August 10 at various locations around the Gold Coast. For further information, head to the festival website.
A few months back, US TV network NBC announced news that definitely wasn't noice, tight or cool cool cool: that Brooklyn Nine-Nine would end after its next (and eighth) season. That revelation sparked plenty of questions, all of varying degrees of importance. How will it all wrap up? What does this last batch of ten episodes have in store for Brooklyn's fictional 99th police precinct? How many more times will Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) say "title of your sex tape"? Will Gina Linetti (Chelsea Peretti) make a final appearance? And how much more yoghurt can Terry Jeffords (Terry Crews) eat? Come August in America, all those queries will be answered. Earlier this month, NBC announced that Brooklyn Nine-Nine's last season would launch following the Tokyo Olympics — and, via a just-dropped first teaser trailer, it has revealed that that'll start happening from August 12. Based on the past few seasons, it's hopeful that viewers Down Under will be able to watch the police-focused comedy come to an end at the same time. In Australia, SBS has fast-tracked recent seasons, so fingers crossed that that happens again. The first sneak peek at the new season doesn't reveal much else, though. It's more of a sizzle reel for the show's last hurrah — but it does remind us that there have been seven Halloween heists and 32 sex tape titles so far, information that every B99 devotee needs to know. Something that it doesn't tell us: how many times Die Hard will get a mention before the series says "yippee-ki-yay" for the last time. Whatever else Peralta, Jeffords (Terry Crews), Amy Santiago (Melissa Fumero), Rosa Diaz (Stephanie Beatriz), Charles Boyle (Joe Lo Truglio), Raymond Holt (Andre Braugher), and Hitchcock (Dirk Blocker) and Scully (Joel McKinnon Miller) get up to, we're guessing that the final season will direct even more love towards the 80s action flick that Peralta so openly adores. As the season seven finale revealed, the show's latest character is named after the Bruce Willis movie, after all. Check out the teaser trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRFDHqFiYoE&t=3s Brooklyn Nine-Nine's eighth and final season is set to start in the US on August 12. We'll update you when an air date Down Under is confirmed.
A library's not a place you'd usually associate with a rocking nine-day music festival. So, it was surprises all 'round as the State Library of Victoria was announced as the hub for this year's Melbourne Music Week. Yep, the grand dame of Swanston Street is about to crank up the volume. Of course, MMW is no stranger to weird and wonderful venues; in previous years, the festival has held gigs in abandoned hospital basements, derelict buildings and underground train stations. Which makes a library seem quite tame, really. Running from November 11 to 19, the festival aims to throw a spotlight on Melbourne's world-renowned music scene — and this year they're promising a diverse array of gigs and events that's even bigger than last year's 110-strong lineup. The full program is yet to drop, though the Melbourne Music Week crew have thrown out a couple of tasty crumbs. Tickets for Zola Jesus' performance are already on sale, while Andrew Jervis, Anthony Fantano, and Nai Palm are just some of the speakers announced for the festival's Face The Music summit, to be held on November 17 and 18. And of course, there's the tantalising news that The State Library will play host to big slice of the action, swapping the usual studious silence and quiet time for some big beats, gigs, and high-energy dance parties. The full program will be announced on October 4 — so stay tuned. Image: Pascal via Flickr.
